1,360 publications approved for digital learning in schools

The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) has approved a total of 1,360 publications in digital formats to be integrated by learners in the Digital Learning Programme ahead of its official rollout in schools.

Speaking during a publishers and digital content creators conference on standards for the online curriculum, the Kenya Publishers Association (KPA) chairman, David Waweru, said that 1,091 supplementary story books and text books in the online Orange Book are ready for lower primary learners.

The Orange Book is the official list of textbooks approved for use in primary and secondary schools. The primary learners will be the first beneficiaries of the Digital Learning Programme that will be scaled up to secondary school learners.

“The total number of the digital content is most likely to double or triple after we make other submissions to KICD next week,” said Mr Waweru.

“KPA members have been preparing for this shift and are ready to be part of creating the future.”

Mr Waweru said that the digital curriculum will expand the space and broaden learners’ choices by offering a wide range of options.

He noted that the digital shift in the education system is a complex process and that its success would largely depend on the interaction between different stakeholders.

Education Secretary Fred Matiang’i challenged KICD, which is the government’s curriculum quality assurance agency, to develop a digital content development team that will oversee the transition.

Dr Matiang’i said that besides the government’s input in terms of content generation, Kenyan innovators are also advised to participate in the creation to ensure diversity and quality online content for learners.

He said the Ministry is working on a budget to build the capacity of content developers.

The more than 62,000 teachers already trained to deliver the Digital Learning Programme to learners will be given certificates to incentivise them and encourage quality education for the “fast-learning” digital generation of learners.

“It can be very awkward for a teacher to stand in front of learners who are more digital savvy than they are. We (in collaboration with the Teachers Service Commission) shall be training more teachers during the school holidays to ensure that they deliver and each one will be certified,” said Dr Matiang’i.

He said that the digital learning platform has already received over 700,000 views from 25 countries barely two months after its launch.