Laptops have been the latest vocabulary in the Kenyan Educational sphere. Many stakeholders are coming to the realization that for value addition in education, there needs to be proper infrastructure. Mwalimu National Sacco has launched an initiative to digitize and improve service delivery in Kenya’s education Sector.
‘Mwalimu Digital Initiative’ is a partnership between the Sacco, Intel, Lenovo, Microsoft, Tecno, Safaricom and Nakumatt. This program will provide Kenyan teachers with low interest, friendly loans to acquire a modern computer. This is meant to complement the Teachers’ Service Commission’s Digital Transformation of schools.
As part of their strategy in Africa, Intel Corporation is committed to supporting technology and PC adoption. “We make this possible by creating programs that enable people to access affordable and relevant technologies”, said Danie Steyin, Intel East Africa’s general manager.
“We work closely with partners in each country to bring affordable and relevant technologies to the market. ‘Mwalimu Digital Program’ is one of these initiatives”, Mr. Steyn added.
Mwalimu National Sacco has negotiated for affordable machines which come pre-loaded with teacher resources from the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD). This will enable the teachers to fast track their professional development.
Speaking at the launch, Mwalimu Sacco’s CEO, Mr. Robert Shibutse said that ICT has the potential to bridge the gap in terms of improving the quality of education. “ICT is a powerful tool for increasing educational opportunities, providing accessibility to resources and reaching populations even in remote areas”, he said.
Mwalimu National has over 70,000 members, who are either employees of the Teachers’ Service Commission (TSC), from post primary institutions, TSC secretariat and their own staff.
This program is timely, in line with the Digital Literacy program that was rolled out last month.