As Kenya’s government tries to fulfil its 2013
election pledge to give first year primary
school students access to laptops, Kizito will
not be able to benefit from the ambitious
$600m (£425m) Digischool scheme.
Instead he will continue to use scraps of paper
to write down his notes, keeping them bundled
in a small black plastic bag.
“He doesn’t have proper books so he borrows
paper plucked from other pupils books,” says
Florence Misiko, the head teacher at St Jude
Nabuyeywe in Bungoma, a poor farming area.
Kizito and his six siblings live with their
grandmother, who cannot afford to buy
exercise books.
At school, he sits on the dusty floor with his
90 classmates, using torn cardboard boxes
and worn out sacks as mats.
“It is really hard for these pupils to learn like
this,” says Mrs Misiko.
"But we are doing everything we can even with
little resources. We have actually just received
several bags of cement from the county
government to finish off the floors of the
classes. Standard one pupils will finally get 1.2
million laptops at a cost of KSh 17 Billion
following two years of uncertainty
around the project which had been hit by
procurement squabbles.
It is now emerging that the procurement
process was split into two phases for ease
of managing the process that has been on
the rocks for two years now. The project
had stalled following disputes that emerged
after India’s Olive technologies was
controversially awarded a tender to supply
the laptops to pupils in 2014.
its kinda overambitious …first power expenses are going to shoot up in schools…zingine hazina ata roof or books…then watoi wanaziona kama play gadgets and not learning equipment …
They can hold volumes of ebooks, video demos for science. The list is endless. Have you interacted with kids exposed to computers and Internet? I know of a boy at 3 he could go to pbs website for kids on any computer and start the learning games. With that exposure they are actually preparing for the world stage same as their peers in the developed world.
very true…
however, with the high levels of poverty and escalating corruption levels, don’t u think those are much more important issues to resolve first then as we mature our economy we can bring in digital edu which BTW is very expe
Heard there is the last mile project for electricity. The garment will do what it can so that bill gates and other philanthropists can have gloating opportunities.
The ease of learning using computers is something that can’t be ignored. You are assuming that kids will be taught packages, correct me if I am wrong. :D:D
it really doesn’t matter what they will learn…the real issues here ni do the advantages outweigh the negative consequences which are very many…for instance, najua wezi wameona opportunity…they will storm in schools to steal these quick money makers. .do we have the security for that? do we have sufficient power supply for the gadgets? will our teachers be encouraged to teach with laptops or will they complain that they are paid peanuts while the same govt has brought expensive laptops
i dont know whats wrong with kenyans and seeing negatives of everything. yes say even 50% of the computers will not benefit the pupils given to them but another big number will grow being i.t savvy and we really could do with that in our country
Nimewachia hapo pa eti mpaka the granny cannot afford simple text-books and the class has 90 pupils.
FOR REAL?
WAKIZAA HAO WATOTO WOTE WALIKUWA WANAZALIA NANI IF HATA EXERCISE BOOK YA 20 BOB HAWAWEZI NUNUA?
Seriously, [SIZE=6]STOP BREEDING LIKE RATS!
Family planning is free in gava health institutions, yet people want to sire children they cannot feed, educate, shelter, guarantee health for etc etc. WTF![/SIZE]
et tu @ incognitus? Do you realise that a laptop is not an end in itself? It’s a means to soooo much! Don’t even ask about the doors it will open for those who will take the training made possible by the laptops!