This archive report was first published on 21 December 2021.
Kenya's education system is taking a significant step towards digital literacy with the introduction of the SchoolNet program, a pilot phase of which was rolled out at Kitivo Primary School in Mwatate. The program aims to bridge the digital gap between urban and rural areas by extending internet bandwidth to far-flung and remote schools across the 47 counties.
Prof. Fatuma Chege, Principal Secretary (PS), State Department for Curriculum Implementation, emphasized the importance of orthographic studies on indigenous languages in developing digital content for learners. She noted that under the Competence Based Curriculum (CBC), indigenous languages included as part of the school curriculum must have established and well-developed studies to guide content development.
“Indigenous languages are included as part of school curriculum, if they have orthographic studies, to guide the process of content development. This is a key requirement that studies must be available for references,” Prof. Chege said.
She called upon scholars to promote research in orthography of indigenous languages, which would ultimately allow the creation of digital content for learners across the country. The PS also highlighted the importance of digital literacy in the CBC, stating that it would help unlock learners' full potential and enable them to make suitable career choices.
“This is a learner-driven program, where children will choose career paths based on their strengths in different fields. Teachers and parents will support those strengths,” Prof. Chege noted.
The SchoolNet program is being implemented by a partnership of Ministries of Education and ICT and Innovation, ICT Authority, UNESCO, and Huawei. The program aims to introduce learners to the use of the internet to support educational activities and promote research.
With the rapid growth of the Ajira Digital Program and the establishment of Youth Empowerment Centers with high-speed internet connectivity, local ICT promoters predict a rise in the creation of online jobs for young people, reducing the rate of unemployment in the region.
Senator Johnes Mwaruma, a strong proponent of indigenous languages in schools, had raised a question at the Senate on why Kitaita and Sagalla languages were missing from the CBC curriculum. He later made a public call to scholars in the region to provide orthographic materials on local languages for forwarding to the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) for evaluation.
Local ICT promoters also predict a rise in demand for digital content for learners in schools, as the digital literacy in primary schools eliminates the inconvenience of retraining employees on computer literacy. Mr. Michael Yande, a net provider in Voi, said that learners would leave schools already equipped with skills that would allow them to seamlessly transit into the job market.
“We will not need to train them in internet use. They already have the skills required for online jobs and other digitally-enabled employment,” Mr. Yande said.
