Kenya introduces Africa's first coding curriculum for primary and secondary schools

The government has approved a new curriculum for secondary and primary school students that will teach coding.

According to the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), the new syllabus will see students learn how to code using universally applicable languages like JavaScript and PHP.

Kenya will be the first country in Africa to implement the curriculum.

Following government approval, Kodris Africa, an online publishing firm, will offer the syllabus.

KICD's chief executive Prof Charles Ong'ondo. Pulse Live Kenya

According to KICD, the curriculum will contain practical exercises that will help pupils develop their problem-solving skills.

"In the past, coding was conceived as a high-level activity yet children can start engaging in early learning levels," stated KICD's chief executive Prof Charles Ong'ondo.

"We are talking to telcos, banks and other partners for the rollout. When students learn to code, they can become producers in this 21st Century digital age rather than merely consume what is created by others," Kodris Africa CEO, Mugumo Munene added.

The adoption of the curriculum, according to Munene, is in accordance with the government's attempts to promote technology use through President Uhuru Kenyatta's digital literacy initiative (DLP).

The DLP programme which was started by the government aims at ensuring pupils are able to use digital technology and communication tools in learning with an overarching objective of transforming learning in Kenya into a 21st Century education system.

During the first phase of the Programme, over one million devices were installed in over 23,000 public primary schools in the country.