Ministry of Education PS Belio Kipsang reveals school laptop project suspended for building of computer labs instead

Gov't new strategy to save school laptop project

Mark Mwithaga

February 25, 2019 10:33 AM

New move to revive critical project

CS Amina Mohamed with PS Belio Kipsang

Ministry of Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang has stated that computer laboratories will be built instead of issuing tablets to primary school pupils as part of the school laptop project.

Kipsang, who spoke during a meeting with the National Assembly Education Committee, mentioned that a computer lab would be set up in each of the public primary schools in the country.

Education PS Belio Kipsang addressing the media ece-auto-gen

“There has been a policy change in programme from one child-one laptop to the construction of computer laboratories for ICT integration,” stated Kipsang.

Jubilee’s Digital Programme had intended to provide Class One pupils in the 25,000 public primary schools with a laptop each but was shifted to tablets instead during the roll out of the programme in 2016.

Government reports had however indicated that the project had failed as many of the teachers were not ready for the programme.

Parliament to determine addition of funds to project

Last Thursday, Division of Revenue Bill 2019 was tabled in parliament with a bid to allocate extra funds into the project.

Kenyan parliament during a past session ece-auto-gen

According to the proposed document, an additional Sh8.4 million will be given to the project that already has spent an excess of Sh50 billion.

This moves however comes months after Auditor General Edward Ouko had showed that an extra Sh15.2 billion assigned to the project could not be accounted for.

Mark Mwithaga