Ministry of Education Responds To MP’s Laptop Project Queries As CBC Rollout Debate Heightens.
MPs questioned the practicality of the Jubilee government’s favourite initiative, the multi-billion shilling laptops program for schools.
The Lawmakers also linked the challenges of the competency-based curriculum (CBC) to the poor distribution of laptops in schools, stating that the new curriculum would have been supported if the laptops had been available.
They also claimed that if the digital literacy program had been properly conducted, parents would have actively participated in their children’s assignments.
According to a parliamentary committee, the government has distributed one million computers to various primary schools thus far.
However, MPs raised concerns about how the new curriculum would be implemented.
PS: Education On behalf of Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha, Julius Jwan spoke before the education committee.
He was responding to Kirinyaga Central MP John Wambugu’s question about the ministry’s efforts to close the digital literacy gap among students.
Wambugu also wanted to know what actions the ministry has made to guarantee that all teachers receive ongoing digital literacy training.
“In my constituency, over half of the primary schools have no power or laptops as per the CBC syllabus. How are they expected to learn or do you think all schools are privileged?” he posed.
He also stated that not all parents and guardians are sufficiently literate to assist with schoolwork.
Wilson Sossion, a nominated MP and former Secretary General at the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), believes the ministry should provide a thorough review of CBC so that everyone is properly equipped.
“Coming up to with a new curriculum means a lot for the country. But if we are talking about learners under the CBC from grade one to grade five, that is about seven to eight million pupils, so in every learning lesson do you really think the one million laptops are sufficient?” Asked Sossion.
PS Jwan, on the other hand, believes it would be misleading to claim the ministry has broken its promise.
Also Read:
– Government Rolls Out Construction of 11,578 New Classrooms across the country
– 340,000 teachers to be trained under the TOTEMK program in preparation for CBC
– Why Sossion, Kuppet Wants Government To End Boarding Schools
– Atheists In Kenya Society wants CRE, HRE and IRE Removed From Syllabus Under CBC Reforms
He told the committee, “that there are schools in rural setups that are connected to and are using solar energy.”
The Jubilee administration highlighted the Sh24.6 billion laptop project in its 2013 manifesto as the solution to Kenyan schools’ lack of digital capabilities.
Initially, all Class One students were promised laptops, but due to financial constraints, tablets were provided instead.
Ministry of Education Responds To MP’s Laptop Project Queries As CBC Rollout Debate Heightens
