The government will borrow a Brazilian model to establish computer labs in schools instead of its initial plan to buy a laptop computer for each school-going child, Education Cabinet Secretary Prof. Jacob Kaimenyi has said.
Kaimenyi said the ministry has studied the Brazilian computer project for schools which it implemented with the support of UNESCO and found that the same model which has been implemented in India, Indonesia, and Nigeria can replicated in Kenya.
In incorporating ICT in education system, Brazil’s Education Ministry established computer lab in all schools and signed a deal with TV Escola, a Brazilian School TV Programme, to explore the media convergence in broadening the interactivity of TV content used in formal and distance education.
Kaimenyi said ministry officials late last year visited Brazil to familiarize themselves with the UNESCO-backed computer lab project for schools and assess how it can be rolled out in the country.
Addressing the press on Saturday in his office, Kaimenyi said the government is committed to actualize its laptop pledge but a case pending in court challenging its procurement process has threatened to derail the fulfilment of the promise.
He said the court hurdle prompted the government to narrow down to computer labs as the best option of introducing ICT in schools.
“We had to behave like a river for when it is blocked it has to find another route,” said Kaimenyi in relation to government’s move to opt for computer labs instead of lap tops in the face of the court case.
– the-star.co.ke
