Kenya: Six Schools to Benefit From Africa Online Project

Technology services company Africa Online has launched an ICT driven corporate social responsibility programme that will see six schools get 20 computers each and an Internet connectivity in the next 12 months.

The Sh1 million CSR programme will be run in partnership with Telkom Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of Telkom South Africa . Africa Online CEO, John Joseph said the programme will play an active role in Kenya’s social and economic development.

“It’s goal is to transform disadvantaged communities through a sustainable development programme,” Mr Joseph said.

Tom Musili , the executive director Computer for Schools Kenya, said the six schools had been identified. They include Kapsara Secondary from Trans Nzoia , Kerugoya School for the Deaf, Baari Girls from Nyandarua, Katanga Mixed from Yatta, Shimo la Tewa Secondary from Mombasa and Wechero.

Mr Musili, however, noted that the main challenge facing Kenya’s drive towards e-learning in schools is the shortage of trained teachers and maintenance experts. “Supplying schools with computers is the easiest part.

The main hurdle is providing Internet connectivity to schools and training the teachers to use them,” said Mr Musili.

He said providing basic computer literacy to teachers enables them to understand the need for the students to use them.

Mr Joseph said the programme will see hundreds of Kenyan schools benefit from an elaborate plan to equip them with computers and free Internet connectivity.

The pilot programme will be evaluated every three months and expanded to schools all over Kenya. Mr Joseph said the foundation efforts have yielded good results with various needy schools across South Africa, being connected to the Internet superhighway under an initiative dubbed Adopt A project.

Statistics from Ministry of Education indicates that only 800 of Kenya’s 4,000 public secondary schools and less than 300 of 19,000 primary schools have computers.

“Our objective is to ensure that we provide a platform for creating a knowledge based society that will impact on the innovation and competitiveness of the Kenyan society in general,” said Joseph.

Africa Online is a subsidiary of Telkom SA and was acquired in February this year. In South Africa it has established 650 computer centres in primary and secondary schools in South Africa.

Over 16,000 computers have so far been deployed in impoverished parts of South Africa. Computers for schools Kenya has so far placed 200 computers in 10 pilot schools . it boasts of eight regional centres and 400 beneficiary institution.

Source: Business Daily.