Kenya’s education-related stakeholders are urging that a rapid and joint action to integrate technology into the country’s educational system should be implemented without delay.
This appeal was made during the fourth edition of the National EdTech Summit held at the Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Africa (CEMASTEA), Nairobi. CEO of Edtech East Africa, Jeniffer Otieno, together with the other stakeholders, cited inadequate infrastructural capacity, particularly in the greatly neglected areas, as a major hindrance to the successful adoption of digital learning tools.
They predicted that the lack of proper facilities and access could lead the education technology ideal to increase the divide instead of closing it. “Technology should be a tool that promotes learning and prepares our students for a rapidly changing digital world,” said Otieno while calling on the government and the private sector to put more money into connectivity, digital devices, and teacher training.
Moreover, stakeholders reported that there is no legal or policy framework that covers the use of digital tools, including artificial intelligence (AI), that guides the use of such tools. They warned that the absence of good rules and regulations might expose minors who use such devices to serious ethical and safety issues.
The summit was an occasion when teachers, policymakers, innovators, researchers, and development partners from far and near convened to examine the role of technology in raising student academic performance and endowing students with the skills necessary for future survival.
Besides infrastructure and policy matters, participants also emphasized the significance of closer ties between employers and higher learning institutions. They recognized that graduates are equipped with emerging and industry-relevant technologies only if there is a deliberate dialogue between technology and education.
The stakeholders engages the government, the private sector, and development partners in the call to initiate democratization of technological literacy so that it is not a privilege of the few but rather a right of every child.
