Kenya: Only 400,000 pupils will get laptops

Pupils of Kirembe Primary School in Kisumu County in a class with the e-reading tablets received from USAID in partnership with the ministry of education. The school received 30 devices. [PHOTO/TITUS MUNALA/STANDARD]

At least 400,000 pupils in Standard One will not get computers in the first year of implementation of the free laptops project.

According to budget estimates to be considered by Parliament for the 2015-16 Financial Year that starts next month, the Government is targeting to provide only 400,000 pupils with laptops during the period. This is about half the population of Standard One pupils in public schools countrywide.

Last year, 1.37 million pupils were enrolled in Standard One, over 800,000 in public schools.

The fact that enrollment has been increasing in the past decade following the introduction of free primary education means that a lot more pupils will miss out in the remaining two years of the Jubilee administration.

This is because the spending plan shows that the Government will also hand out 400,000 laptops in 2017.

However, it emerged last week that the Government was considering abandoning the laptops project, which has not taken off in over two years due to a tendering row, in favour of tablet computers.

"We are looking at all options and there is a specific team in the Education ministry that is working on it. We shall be able to know if we shall go the laptop or tablet way by June when I read the budget," Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich said in an interview with The Standard.

Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi has supported the tablets, arguing they would be cheaper to buy. He also noted that some children already have had exposure to tablets and this would make implementation of the e-learning programme easier.

The free primary education boosted the school retention rates of pupils between Standard One and five to 96.7 per cent, according to the Economic Survey 2015. Provision of laptops might further encourage more pupils to stay in school.

It is still unclear what criteria will be used to distribute the laptops, schools that will miss out are likely to generate fresh controversy.

The Government plans to train 6,000 teachers in ICT in the new financial year.

The Government also plans to distribute one laptop to 21,000 schools. These schools will also receive one printer each.

computer lab

The Government will also construct, expand or rehabilitate 21,000 computer labs. This means that each of the schools receiving one laptop and printer will also have a functional computer lab.

This is the first time the Government has released estimates that contain key targets and outputs by ministries explaining how they plan to use the monies they receive as a requirement by Parliament.

The initial plan of the Jubilee government as contained in its manifesto was to work with international partners to provide solar-powered laptop computers equipped with relevant content for every school-age child.

In the next budget, the Government has set aside Sh17.58 billion for deployment of laptops to schools, development of digital content, building capacity of teachers and rolling out computer laboratories for pupils between Standard Four and Eight throughout the country.

The Standard has also learnt that in order to ensure  transparent, speedy and cost effective execution of the roll-out, the President has directed that the implementation be coordinated by Education, Information and Communication, Energy and Petroleum, National Treasury ministries and the State Law Office.

According to the brief the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua, the  Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology will coordinate the digital literacy programme, the Ministry of Industrialisation will establish capacity to undertake first line assembly while the Education ministry will be in charge of curriculum and content.

The National Treasury will be responsible for the allocation of budgetary resources while Energy ministry will be in charge of tracking electricity connectivity to schools.

The Attorney General will "undertake the necessary processes and procedures to ensure the proper revocation of all previous public procurement activities related to the purchase of ICT devices."

The delicate procurement process denied pupils the much-awaited laptops after the Ministerial Tender Committee last year awarded the contract to Olive Telecommunications Pvt Limited.

Following the tender award, the procurement process was put on hold after other bidders namely Haier Electricals Appliances Corporation Limited and Hewlett-Packard Limited (HP) from Europe, appealed to the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board.

The board nullified the contract, citing a flawed tendering process that included leaking of tender specifications and pricing to a select company by Government officials. The matter is still in court.