Kenyan Primary Schools to Benefit from Digital Learning

By Atieno Mboya

Photo courtesy; The News Reel Library

Approximately 22 000 primary schools are connected to power supply countrywide, as a measure to enhance digital learning at a primary level. This is a move to replace the government’s laptop project, according to the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD).

The Digital Literacy Programme (DLP), as opposed to the laptop project, is a programme aimed at instilling entrepreneurship and ICT skills to pupils at a young age, to facilitate independence and self-help at their early stages of life.

According to Mr. Aggrey Oduor, a curriculum developer at KICD, the current 8-4-4 system of education does not satisfy the market needs, and brews children ready for white collar jobs, rather than self-employment.

“The current system is misplaced. We need an education system that is market driven, that produces what the society needs, rather than having a system just because it has been there,” said Mr. Aggrey, during a recent  visit at the KICD offices.

“Our main aim is to expose pupils at an early age. If we have ICT and complement it with good internet and entrepreneurship, Kenya will be a totally different country in the next 20 years,” he added.

Photo Courtesy; The News Reel library

According to Mr. Aggrey, DLP will enable pupils to have their subjects online, just by accessing a link through any smart-tech device, and also enhance real-time interactivity just as in a normal class.

“DLP is easily accessible. In fact, as opposed to the laptop project where content was only in the school laptops, in DLP, content can be accessed anywhere, provided the pupils have a smart device. Whether at home or from their parents’ smartphones, they’ll be able to interact with content online,” he added.

Safaricom Kenya is set to be the Internet Service Provider for primary schools, to allow them to access content uninterruptedly, with good internet connectivity.

Other multiplier effects of DLP include lighting business centers and improving water supply in surrounding villages, through power used for pumping water.