Class One pupils to wait longer for State laptops

By AUGUSTINE ODUOR

Nairobi, Kenya: Class One pupils will not get laptops by January as earlier indicated, Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi has announced.

Kaimenyi admitted to many implementation challenges and logistical hiccups but noted that the gadgets will be delivered to schools before the end of the first quarter of next year.

This means that Standard One pupils will be sure to use the laptops before end of March next year as opposed to their January expectation.

He said delivering the 1.3 million laptops to schools would not be a simple task, describing it as a ‘nightmare’ given the logistical challenges.

“Shipping these machines, for instance if they come from China, will take at least 40-days. So it is not easy to produce these items in time because freight alone requires more than one-month,” he explained.

He was speaking yesterday when he appeared before the House committee on Education, Science and Technology.

Prof Kaimenyi said the tender was cancelled to ensure funds were spent as per the budget.

“We have now begun consultations with various arms of the government to see the way forward on how these items will be procured,” he said.

He added: “We have been forced to re-examine the procurement laws and decide on which better way forward.”

The Cabinet Secretary noted that so far a number of ways are being considered and said that the ministry is likely to use one of the methods under discussion to purchase the items.

MEETING TIMELINES

“Once the Public Procurement Oversight Authority (PPOA) approves this we shall hit the road to ensure the timelines are met,’ he said.

Kaimenyi was put to task by the House team, with suggestions that the implementation process be phased out.

He spoke as primary school teachers said they would not cooperate with their secondary school counterparts who have been asked to train them in laptop skills.

The teachers said they were  not subordinate to secondary school teachers.

Committee Chairperson Sabinah Chege said Rwanda’s one-laptop-per-child (OLPC) project was not implemented at once because of challenges.