Is free laptops project being introduced haphazardly?

By Paul Ogula

The provision of free laptops to Class One pupils starting next year has become one of the flagship policies of the government.

For President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto, the project is a powerful innovation that can modernise the education system.

The programme is also portrayed as an instrument for improving access to information communication technology (ICT) in schools and households.

All these are noble, but it seems the government wants to use ICT for its own sake or for political expediency. With education, any new innovation has to be reflectively done to make the teacher teach and the pupil learn something more effectively than before. That is, the innovation has to promote better knowledge and understanding of the course and lesson objectives.

The key factor in the teaching and learning process is the teacher, not laptops.

There is no evidence that effective learning is as a result of computers per se. Instead, the root of improved pupil achievement is the teacher.

Those who believe that giving laptops to Class One pupils is better than recruiting more teachers and motivating the existing ones need to visit schools to understand what happens at that level.

Infrastructure

This does not mean the free laptops for schools programmes should be ditched altogether. The programme if implemented will be perhaps the best thing to ever happen to our pupils.

However, rules of natural justice require that the government gives priority to recruitment of 40,000 teachers, bettering the welfare of existing ones and infrastructure in schools.

ICT in education is used in six ways. First, information gathering using internet browsers and multimedia CD-ROMS. Second, practical work, third simulation, fourth, data handling that include using software to compute information, fifth mathematical modelling and lastly communication using PowerPoint.

Many of these operations are too advanced for Standard One pupils. Research suggests that access to ICT by teachers and learners has increased dramatically in developed and some developing countries. And there is evidence that ICT use can make a positive contribution to motivation and learning of students of between ages 11 and 16, not six to 10.

Anyone with good intentions for our pupils must thoroughly agree with the proposal to give free laptops, but by failing to recruit more teachers and putting aside money for promotion, the government is setting up the computer project for failure. The big question is, are laptops for Standard One pupils necessary in schools that have serious shortage of teachers?

Here are seven reasons why the laptop project should be deferred. To begin with, the country faces scarcity of teachers. It has become normal for a teacher to teach over 80 pupils in a class.

This makes coursework assessment, recording and reporting of pupils’ achievement difficult. Add this workload to extracurricular activities and you will understand why recruitment of additional teacher is a priority.

With such a heavy workload, where will teachers find time to teach Standard One pupils how to use computers?

Second, Standard One pupils need to be first taught how to read and write before they are confronted with mindboggling things like mouse, cursor and keyboard, which some teachers do not know about. Reading and writing is the central objective of lower primary education.

Third, the government’s implementation approach is defective. The school laptop programme is a major initiative in Kenya’s education system. Consequently, it should be developed according to acceptable principles of curriculum innovation, not rushed using the power-coercive approach.

Backlash

Fourth, whereas there is political support for the laptop project, there is no evidence to exhibit that Kenyans are desirous of the project. Thus, forcing the project down  on teachers and students will have a severe backlash.

Fifth, with few exceptions, the current state of public primary school, particularly those in rural areas is not conducive for introduction of ICT. There are many schools without adequate classrooms and other facilities like toilets, staffrooms and electricity. Sixth, research has shown that many teachers have resisted the introduction of ICT in schools because they perceive the innovation as possessing extremely high complexities. Thus, curriculum developers need adequate time to train teachers on the gadgets because some have never seen or used a laptop.

Seventh, inability of the government to convince education stakeholders about relevance of the programme poses risks to its success. Advocates of free laptops have completely failed to convince teachers and other stakeholders of merits of the programme.

Justifications by Cabinet Secretary National Treasury Henry Rotich that the goal of using computers is not to reduce use of textbooks and that government wants to adopt e-learning and e-teaching systems are inadequate.

The government should heed Kenya National Union of Teachers warning that teachers may become disillusioned because of the laptop programme. It should put the project on hold and consult widely before rolling it out. This should start with the government allocating funds to the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) for the purpose of establishing a school laptop project. The institute will then develop the programme according to systematic curriculum development procedures.

This will entail conducting needs assessment, developing the innovation, teacher training, pilot testing the innovation on small-scale, conducting formative and summative evaluations and finally implementing. This can take a year or two but the good thing about it is that it will be systematic, transparent and have higher chances of succeeding. 

During the implementation stage, KICD should organise seminars and workshops to increase teachers and parents awareness of the importance of ICT in teaching and learning. We should never be seen to be denigrating curriculum implementation.

– The writer is a curriculum developer and the chairman of Society for Educational Research and Evaluation in Kenya.