Kago with Erastus Shupavu291 student
Erastus Shupavu291 user testimonial:
Did you know that Aviation technology is a subject in the Kenyan High School curriculum? I learned this from Erastus Apwacho, a Form-3 (equivalent of 11th Grade) student at Maseno School, who is one of the most active learners on Shupavu291 SMS.
He hung out with our CEO, Kago and talked about how Eneza’s users could spread education through the platform beyond the invite-a-friend feature. They shared awesome problems and insights on what would motivate learners or “invitees” to create platform virality. Erastus also got to problem solve from a business’ perspective.
Erastus heard about Shupavu291–our SMS virtual classroom–on Radio Citizen in 2016, when had just joined high school after scoring 435/500 points in KCPE. He’s been a loyal mobile bookworm, studying diligently on his old sluggish Android phone during school holidays.
“Time management”, he told me, was how he’d managed to be extremely active given his school, Maseno, doesn’t allow phone usage during the school term.
During the holidays, his typical day starts 6am with study on Eneza. He spends his day socializing, helping his mother with house chores, going to the local library and even watching some TV. In between, he takes at least 30 lessons on Eneza.
When he started studying on Eneza, Erastus was scoring 570/800 marks at Maseno. This has improved to 630 marks in Form 3. He does all the pure sciences i.e. Chemistry, Physics and Biology at school and on Eneza, in addition to the other general subjects, English, Mathematics, Swahili and Geography. The only subject not available on on Eneza is Aviation Technology. It’s only offered by a handful of secondary schools in Kenya, Maseno School being one, and leads to Aeronautical Engineering, which requires a perfect A grade of 84 points. This means Erastus has his work set out for him, and with the current focus and awesome life-balance he’s achieved so far, the world is his oyster.
“We are happy to be part of his education, even though we don’t have Aviation Technology. Erastus is brilliant, however shy. If he can hold down the other 8 subjects and be confident enough to take on new learning challenges, he’ll be good!”
“We’re obviously looking into getting that and other specialised subjects on the platform,” Kago commented. “I want to see him build big planes and teach others how to do it.”
Shupavu291, the 1G learning product that Erastus uses, can be accessed by dialing the short code *291# on any Safaricom mobile phone in Kenya, and costs KSH 1.5 daily ($0.10 weekly). The same product was awarded the Best Mobile Innovation for Education at the Mobile World Congress 2018 GLOMO awards for stories just like these.
Do you know any content partners who enable learners like Erastus achieve their career aspirations through fun and practical STEM programmes. Please connect us! We’re always looking for amazing partners to add value to the users that are making time to study with tech. Send us an email to social@enezaeducation.com.