Education CS: 2,164 public primary schools yet to receive free laptops

Education cabinet secretary Amina Mohamed. [Photo: Courtesy]

Close to 2,164 public primary schools are yet to receive free laptops from the ministry of education two years after the unveiling of the program.

Education cabinet secretary Amina Mohamed said the project was facing a lot of challenges with teachers lacking basic technological skills required to operate these laptops.

Digital Literacy Program had been allocated Sh11.9 billion in the 2018/2019 budget to help in purchasing tablets for public primary schools and train teachers on technology.

The program kicked off two years ago with the government being optimistic that the project would have covered entire schools in two years.

Teachers on the other hand claim that some schools do not have power to sustain these laptops making the exercise futile.

Speaking to House Committee on Education, Amina told Julius Melly that out of 21,731 schools, the ministry had managed to issue 19,565 schools with free tablets. Amina also said that many special schools were yet to receive the laptops.

“Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology has installed devices at 7,256 schools while Moi University has reached 12,309. Overall, 1,067,745 digital devices have been installed,” supposed Ms Mohamed.

It is believed that all schools in Elgeyo Marakwet have the tablets. Homabay is leading with the highest number of schools that do not have the free laptops at 278 followed by Siaya with 176, West Pokot has 167 schools yet to receive laptops and Migori has 165 schools yet to receive these free learning tablets for pupils.

It has also been alleged that most lower primary school teachers do not have computer literacy skills.

The government had set aside Sh30 billion for the purchase of the tablets for all primary schools however recently the president proposed a budget cut of Sh1.6 billion  to cater for connecting electricity to schools.

 

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