It is about embracing technology in which a switch to digital television broadcast is coming in soon starting with the capital Nairobi. Then thereafter Kenyan kids in public primary schools will be given free laptops. However, these devices are targeted at pupils entering standard one only.
In the media digitization front, the capital Nairobi is leading the shift which will then be extended to other cities and regions thereafter. While television broadcast shift has become a matter of concern, it is the laptop for pupils that is generating a lot of debates. The laptop devices for Standard One pupils are expected to truly turn the country into an ICT hub.
The laptop devices for school-children will be solar powered because quite a sizeable area of the country is not yet covered by electricity. However, there also spirited efforts by the government to connect the whole country to the national electricity grid. In the same breath, the national electricity distributor is also changing to prepaid consumption while dropping the more traditional post-paid system for electricity consumption.
In embracing ICT, it is only the public schools and the so-called informal schools in the country that are lagging behind. Most private schools in the capital have long embraced ICT and many pupils there as early as standard one can use laptop or desktop computers. It is this technological gap that the government seems determined to bridge.
This ambitious laptop project has attracted international and local ICT providers who are seeking for the tender to supply the devices. This is a multibillion shilling project that would be carried out each year as schools admit fresh Standard One pupils. The whole school ICT project is expected to create job opportunities for many unemployed people directly and indirectly.
There is also the concern that the country lacks adequate teachers. Lack of enough teachers has on several occasions lead to industrial actions where teachers either go-slow on their duties or completely abandon classrooms for weeks. Amazingly the teachers are no doubt excited about the project but only object to what they term as wrong timing. Perhaps their timing is about when their number is increased and pay hiked.
It has to be said that while ICT is scant among public primary schools pupils and the teachers, children in privately owned schools are way ahead in technology. Most pupils in private schools know how to use computers or laptops owned by their parents or which are available in school. This gap in ICT literacy is what seems to be pushing the government hard to bridge.
There are however downsides to this project as very few tutors in public primary schools are ICT literate. This is posing the greatest challenge because without human resource, the project could be dead on its arrival. The teacher crisis is also seen in the yarning gap of teacher to student ratio and this is one of the reasons the country has seen almost unending tassel between the government and teachers. This has sometimes culminated in weeks of industrial action, thus paralyzing learning the learning of Kenyan kids in public schools.
In the media digitization front, the capital Nairobi is leading the shift which will then be extended to other cities and regions thereafter. While television broadcast shift has become a matter of concern, it is the laptop for pupils that is generating a lot of debates. The laptop devices for Standard One pupils are expected to truly turn the country into an ICT hub.
The laptop devices for school-children will be solar powered because quite a sizeable area of the country is not yet covered by electricity. However, there also spirited efforts by the government to connect the whole country to the national electricity grid. In the same breath, the national electricity distributor is also changing to prepaid consumption while dropping the more traditional post-paid system for electricity consumption.
In embracing ICT, it is only the public schools and the so-called informal schools in the country that are lagging behind. Most private schools in the capital have long embraced ICT and many pupils there as early as standard one can use laptop or desktop computers. It is this technological gap that the government seems determined to bridge.
This ambitious laptop project has attracted international and local ICT providers who are seeking for the tender to supply the devices. This is a multibillion shilling project that would be carried out each year as schools admit fresh Standard One pupils. The whole school ICT project is expected to create job opportunities for many unemployed people directly and indirectly.
There is also the concern that the country lacks adequate teachers. Lack of enough teachers has on several occasions lead to industrial actions where teachers either go-slow on their duties or completely abandon classrooms for weeks. Amazingly the teachers are no doubt excited about the project but only object to what they term as wrong timing. Perhaps their timing is about when their number is increased and pay hiked.
It has to be said that while ICT is scant among public primary schools pupils and the teachers, children in privately owned schools are way ahead in technology. Most pupils in private schools know how to use computers or laptops owned by their parents or which are available in school. This gap in ICT literacy is what seems to be pushing the government hard to bridge.
There are however downsides to this project as very few tutors in public primary schools are ICT literate. This is posing the greatest challenge because without human resource, the project could be dead on its arrival. The teacher crisis is also seen in the yarning gap of teacher to student ratio and this is one of the reasons the country has seen almost unending tassel between the government and teachers. This has sometimes culminated in weeks of industrial action, thus paralyzing learning the learning of Kenyan kids in public schools.
About the Author:
Discover how you can help Kenyan kids and orphans today by reviewing the information at kenyagivehope.com. If you wish to get involved with our organization, simply contact us via http://kenyagivehope.com.
0 التعليقات:
إرسال تعليق