Kenya’s Laptop Project Gets Fresh Funding

THE government of Kenya is still keen to deliver laptops for individual children in lower primary. Although the laptop project has been bogged by a protracted court battle over irregular tendering, the government still has the will to deliver on this election pledge.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich said the project would cost Sh17.4 billion to, “enhance access and transform the educational system through e-Teaching .”

The e-learning entails, “laptops for our children, building capacity for teachers and a roll out of computer laboratories to all public schools for classes 4 to 8.”

[related-posts]

This means the planned 1.2 laptops for class 1 children could is still be there, although Rotich did not mention the number of children as he revealed that computer labs for upper primary will be built.

Free education at both primary and day secondary schools is set to be achieved in the next 3 years at a cost of Sh28.2 billion for day secondary and Sh13.5 billion for primary school.

This represents a 33 per cent increased capitation of the current Sh1, 025 in primary schools while day secondary currently at Sh10, 265 will go up by 39 percent.

Rotich said: “This would curb the many drop outs in school and also improve the quality of education.” New national schools have been allocated Sh600 million in a move aimed at reducing the high fees charged by these respective schools.

TSC has Sh2.3 billion to recruit 5, 000 teachers while teachers’ welfare has Sh2 billion and Sh5.5 billion to promote teachers and implement the remaining phase of commuter allowance.

To keep the youths in schools for skills, Sh6.4 billion has been to technical training institutes, Sh55 billion for university education and Sh540 million for village polytechnics instructors, which is farther support to county governments.

But the Higher Education Loans Board got Sh5.7 billion which is short of the Sh8.8 billion requested. This amount could cause a reduction to the current Sh35,000 to Sh60,000 loans given out to students.

Source: The Star