Lower primary public school teachers are not using technology in classrooms due to computer illiteracy, drawing attention to more than Sh30 billion spent on the purchase of the laptops for pupils.
Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) secretary-general Wilson Sossion said teachers could not be blamed for the almost collapse of laptop project, adding that the State implemented it in a hurry.
“The teachers were not trained. They were merely assessed and given the gadgets,” he said. Mr Sossion said the rollout of laptop project, which later shifted to tablets, was not well thought out. He said the government could have saved taxpayers’ money had it provided laptops to teachers or set up computer laboratories.
A report by Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, which has been piloting of a new curriculum in Class One and Two, revealed that only a few public schools were using information communication technology (ICT) to boost teaching and learning despite receiving equipment under the Digital Literacy Programme.
“This was interpreted as either unwillingness by teachers to integrate ICT in the learning process or a lack of capacity to do it,” reads the report released in May. The report shows that only 39 per cent of teachers use ICT to enhance learning. According to official statistics, more than 70,000 teachers had been trained under the programme.
Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology and Moi University (JKUAT), which assembled more than 100,000 learning devices declined to respond to the queries on the project and referred the Business Daily to ICT Authority. JKUAT factory rolls out 1,250 devices daily while Moi University produces 600.
