State to train teachers to deliver new digital curriculum

NAIROBI: An additional 12,000 primary school teachers will update their computer skills for effective delivery of the digital curriculum.

Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i said the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will lead the training, which will run until the end of next month.

Another 13,000 teachers will be trained by end of August, bringing the total number of teachers to be trained in the next five months to 25,000.

The Government has already trained 62,000 teachers in readiness for the June delivery of the first batch of digital learning devices across selected schools under phase one of the laptop project.

Dr Matiang'i said focus must now shift from devices to content.

"Without content, laptop devices alone will not make a difference in the education sector," he said.

The CS spoke during an inaugural meeting of publishers and content creators to develop standards for digital content at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) yesterday.

Publishers and content developers aired their views on content development.

Matiang'i said content development would be liberalised and asked KICD to produce guidelines for the same.

"Other players will be allowed to compete and participate as a way to realise quality. The digital literacy programme is about content and the mode of delivery," he added.

During the meting, KICD Chief Executive Officer Jwan Julius presented the Standards for Quality Assurance for the online educational content.

Matiang'i asked those in the meeting to form a digital content caucus to serve as a link between the ministry and players in the education sector.

The caucus will comprise KICD, Information and Communication Technology Authority, content developers, teachers unions and the Education ministry which will be represented by Jomo Kenyatta Foundation and Kenya Literature Bureau.

The caucus will be the advisory committee in addition to evaluating and monitoring the content development process.