Govt: Children will not take laptops home

The government now says schoolchildren would not be allowed to walk home with laptops once they start using them from next year.

Ministry of Education officials Monday told a stakeholders’ forum in Nairobi that lessons from other countries indicate there would be many cases of lost gadgets if school children are allowed to go home with them.

“There will be enough storage rooms in each school where laptops would be kept after school sessions. But, really, the real security should come from all of us to guard them,” said Mr John Temba, the Ministry’s Director of ICT.

“We learnt this from Uruguay where children were allowed to go home with laptops but ended up losing them.”

The Laptop Project is expected to be rolled out from next year when the government would issue the estimated 1.3 million Standard One children in public schools with the devices. But the programme has been surrounded with uncertainty.

The government was hosting teachers, parents, donors, and other education stakeholders at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) to “clarify issues” that have surrounded the Laptops Project since it was announced at the start of the Jubilee administration five months ago.

The issues include tendering for supply of the gadgets, safety of laptop accessories to users, feasibility of the project in an environment where few teachers are computer literate and whether they would be enough content.

Last week, the government announced tough rules for bidders of the project, demanding that interested IT firms should present a proof of past experience as well as a financial bond of Sh228 million. Local firms argued the amount was too high, but the government argued it wanted to make the project free from quacks.

“The tender has not been awarded to any firm as had been erroneously reported in a section of the media. I assure the bidders that this process will be carried out professionally in conformity with the Public Procurement and Disposal Act,” Prof Joseph Kaimenyi told the gathering Monday.

“I wish to allay any fears regarding viability and safety issues of this project by stating that the Ministry has put in place adequate measures to ensure that the implementation of the laptop programme meets the educational objectives and the strict safety guidelines.”

Each device would cost Sh15,000 meaning the government could spend at least Sh15 billion in the first phase. According to the Ministry of Education, this first batch would be loaded with content for the syllabi for class one, two and three such that the pioneers would use their gadgets up to 2016.

Although the government argues that it would introduce laptops to other classes from 2015 in its second roll-out, stakeholders at the meeting questioned the rationale behind keeping laptops at school yet other pupils in upper classes cannot use them.

“We are saying that the children would leave laptops at school. That is fine, but most standard one children lave school at around 1pm. We should put content for all classes so they can use them for the rest of the day,” argued Dr John Mugo, the National Coordinator for Uwezo-Kenya, an education NGO.

The government plans to start training 6,1351teachers from next month to prepare them to handle the programme. It would mean at least three teachers (the head teacher and two others) in each school would be trained.

However, stakeholders argue there has been no policy on how the programme would be sustained. Initial funds for the project have come from donors.