About 90 percent of Schools in Kiambu County have access to computers and opportunities to engage with their education through technology, courtesy of support from donors, partners and the Ministry of Education.
Speaking at Saint Riara Secondary School in Kiambu, while receiving donations of desktops from Forum for African Women Educationalists: Kenya Chapter (FAWE Kenya), The County Director of Education Simon Wanjohi said the integration of ICT in the education system has improved the quality of learning in schools
“Children who do not have access to computers at home and enter schools that lack access to them, are at a severe academic and social disadvantage,” said Wanjohi, adding, “We are happy because in Kiambu county about 90 percent of schools have access to computer.”
The Director further stated that the Ministry of Education had introduced the National ICT Strategy for Education and Training, which empowers schools to engage with stakeholders like FAWEK in partnerships to facilitate access to ICT infrastructure and enhance ICT integration.
According to the County Coordinator FAWE-Kenya Pouline Masese, they were partnering with MasterCard Foundation in the ‘Imarisha Msichana’ project which aims to significantly reduce incidences of teenage pregnancy and also contribute towards enhancing access to technology in Kenyan schools.
“We are donating desktops to eight selected public schools in Kiambu County, which include six secondary schools and two primary schools and each school gets a total of three desktops,” said Masese.
She added that the aim is to make digital literacy accessible for learners from less privileged backgrounds especially those in public schools that are yet to set up infrastructure for e-learning.
On his part, Saint Riara Secondary School principal Mr. Antony Ngonyo lauded the initiative by FAWEK saying the desktops will make it easy for learners to relate to some of the content being offered under the Competence-Based Curriculum.
“Previously we had to skip instructions that provided an online link due to lack of computers, but now we are happy because with these machines, learners will get an opportunity to access the learning material embedded online, ” said Ngoyo.
By Grace Naishoo
