The Introduction of Digital Learning Programme (DLP) has created a level playing field for learners to access quality and relevant education.
The Cabinet Secretary for Education Dr Fred Matiang’i said the delivery of the curriculum on digital platform ensures children in remote and urban areas get the same quality instruction.
Dr Matiang’i made the remarks on Tuesday when he launched DLP at Isooni Primary School in Kathiani Sub-county, Machakos County. He was accompanied by the Acting ICT Authority Chief Executive Officer Mr Robert Mugo.
The initiative is part of government programme to ensure that all public primary schools received the tablets by the end of the year. “The Government has trained over 77,000 teachers to handle teaching and learning in schools on digital platform and over 124,000 teachers will have been trained in ICT by the end of the year,” noted Dr Matiang’i.
“The government had already developed digital content for class one to three and uploaded it on the digital platform.”
He explained that the vision is to migrate all prescribed curriculum content to digital platform from where teaching and learning will take place instead of depending on the traditional instructional aids as the textbook, exercise books, chalk and the blackboard.
At the same time Dr Matiang’i warned that fees schools charge for internal examinations are illegal.
He said the capitation funds under Free Primary and Free Day Secondary programme were designed to cater for all internal examinations, and warned that levies imposed on parents regarding internal examinations were wrong.
The Cabinet Secretary was responding to complaints by the area MP Henry Mbui who said primary schools repeatedly demanded Sh20 from every pupil for examinations. “Schools set many examinations within a term, necessitating parents to pay Sh20 for each examination,” he said.
The MP said most parents were too poor to raise the levies, noting that he had undertaken to use the Constituency Development Funds (CDF) to pay for two examinations for all pupils in primary school each term.
Mr Mbui complained that schools demanded payments for examinations from parents even after he had paid for them. Dr Matiang’i clarified that County Education Boards (CEB) had no legal basis to levy any charges on parents.
The Cabinet Secretary reiterated the government’s move to have County Commissioners chair County Education Boards to ensure effective coordination and supervision of schools in accordance with the law.
He appealed to teachers to support government commitment to deliver what he called “ a clean and creditable examinations results” during this year’s national examinations.