Africa: Schools get ICT boost
Secondary school students incan now make use of computers and wireless connectivity for all types of class work, courtesy of the latest ICT development initiative that is expected to see to it that all schools have access to e-learning facilities. The programme has been launched by INTEL, a company that offers ICT solutions in Africa and Europe and puts Kenya in the list of two other African countries that would receive e-learning facilities in Secondary schools.
Highway Africa News Agency
Secondary school students can now make use of computers and wireless connectivity for all types of class work, courtesy of the latest ICT development initiative that is expected to see to it that all schools have access to e-learning facilities.
The programme has been launched by INTEL, a company that offers ICT solutions in Africa and Europe and puts Kenya in the list of two other African countries that would receive e-learning facilities in Secondary schools.
The other two are South Africa and Nigeria.
During the launch in Kamiti Secondary School located in the outskirts of Nairobi, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry of education, Karega Mutahi was all praises, saying that the project comes at a time when Kenyan Secondary schools had been craving for an internet-based style of learning.
INTEL has already donated laptop computers to students, known as 'classmates'. With a teacher having his own laptop, students can then access his material from their own low cost-classmate laptops.
The new project makes the use of blackboard irrelevant as they will now be replaced by a touch screen that enables the students to send their work to the teacher through wireless connectivity.
"This project puts Kenya at the forefront in e-learning solutions for our secondary school students," said Karega adding that it was in line with the government's commitment to empowering Kenyans with ICT capabilities.
The ministry of education, with the support of the government has assured students of quality education through the use of ICT solutions that not only make their work easier but also faster.
INTEL, a development partner in ICT, supports schools in Africa to help the latter achieve quality and competitive education through the use of wireless-enabled computers. In Kenya however, the sector is still far from being achieved as many rural schools still grapple with the lack of electricity and the high cost of ICT equipment in Africa in general is still a major problem.
Students and teachers at Kamiti Secondary school were all smiles and promised to harness the usefulness of the project to the fullest. The initiative would be used as a model for future projects in the country.
Plans are also underway to set up digital villages in every constituency in the country in order to boost the number of internet users from the current 2.7 million up to 6 million.