KAIS, Kodris Africa seek to incorporate ICT into the Kenyan education system
Kenya Association of International Schools (KAIS) in partnership with Education Technologies firm Kodris Africa has today hosted a digital skills symposium seeking to bring to light the importance of incorporating ICT into the fabric of the Kenyan education system.
Taking advantage of the 5th industrial revolution, the symposium brought together various stakeholders from education and ICT sector, to equip Kenyan learners with digital skills as spelt out in the competency-based curriculum which is under review by orders of President William Ruto.
The Kenya National Examination Council has said they are waiting for Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) to give them the frame work for the so as to put in place a way of doing assessment of learners.
“We as KNEC are waiting for the institute of curriculum development to give the frame work which we will then use in as creating a way of doing assessment,” said Dr David Njeng’ere C.E.O KNEC.
Being that the current job market heavily depends on problem solving skills, computing and coding has been identified as one of the ways of achieving this with the discussion majorly revolving around introducing the curriculum in primary and secondary schools.
Kodris Africa began offering coding syllabus after the government through the ministry of education tasked the KICD early in the year to approve a curriculum for secondary and primary school making Kenya the first country in Africa to implement this syllabus.
This was part of the efforts by former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s digital literacy programme (DLP) launched in the year 2016 with the aim to integrate ICT into formal education where ICT Authority in partnership with the ministry of education was tasked to distribute 1,169,000 tablets to 21,638 public primary schools countrywide.
However, it is still a challenge to cover the whole country in terms of introduction of coding to school especially in the areas largely affected by drought and famine situation not forgetting insecurity, but the players are saying the country is not too bad off because there is already an existing infrastructure all that remains is to elevate everyone to the same level.
The symposium discussed on ways the government can work with the private sector to ensure no child is disenfranchised especially the children living with disabilities.
Parents of 21 century learners have been urged to quickly adopt the coding curriculum as a way of preparing their children to face future computer technologies, help their children in acquiring the instruments necessary for coding and to be hands on even if they lack the knowledge through many ways such as buying computers, regulating screen time and protecting their children.
Foreign tech companies such as Google and Microsoft are helping in dispensing of resources to help the education ministry achieve the full implementation of coding syllabus, which they say will also help them in getting some gifted children in to their tech programs who to help in taking advantage of the fifth industrial revolution.
