Govt approves 1,360 publications for digital learning programme

Pupils at Blescohouse School in Nakuru take computer lessons on January 28, 2014. PHOTO | FILE

What you need to know:

  • Class one pupils countrywide are the first beneficiaries of the school laptop project. At the moment, the government is conducting that will be scaled up to secondary school learners.
  • KICD states that a Digital Content Wireless Server and Router (DCWSR) will be installed with content in all classrooms. The gadget will be loaded with vetted content from publishers and innovators.

The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) has approved thousands of publications in digital format to aid the implementation of the Sh17 billion school laptop project.

The 1,360 publications are set to be loaded on a universal cloud platform for ease of access by 22,000 primary schools as the program is rolled out.

Speaking during a publishers and digital content standards event, the Kenya Publishers Association (KPA) chairman, David Waweru, said the publications are story books and text books targeting the lower primary classes.

Class one pupils countrywide are the first beneficiaries of the school laptop project. At the moment, the government is conducting that will be scaled up to secondary school learners.

“The total number of the digital content is most likely to double or triple after we make other submissions to KICD next week,” said Mr Waweru, “We have been preparing for this shift and are ready to be part of creating the future.”

DELIVER CONTENT

Education Secretary Fred Matiang’i challenged developers to come up in large numbers and deliver content that will be of use to the learners. KICD as the government’s curriculum agency will ensure that all content on the site meet the set requirements to serve the primary schools.

KICD states that a Digital Content Wireless Server and Router (DCWSR) will be installed with content in all classrooms. The gadget will be loaded with vetted content from publishers and innovators.

Class one pupils in 150 selected schools countrywide will have their first laptops delivered in a few weeks as the content is made available on the universal platform.

Two consortia of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and Moi University will install laptops, routers and servers in this pilot phase. They will then move on to deliver 600,000 laptops to marked schools in the first phase by June this year.