Lodwar – 2nd July 2024 (Public Communication and Media Relations)

Ten schools in Lodwar town have been selected to pilot the Digital Literacy Project, aimed at introducing young learners to creative coding and robotics in support of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).

The eight-month pilot, funded by the Raspberry Pi Foundation and implemented by the Frontier Counties Development Council (FCDC) and M-Lugha Foundation, will establish ICT clubs where learners in Grades 4-8 will be guided to use “Scratch” – a tool approved by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development.

While opening the two-day training for the ten ICT teachers from the selected primary schools, the Chief Officer for Education, Social Protection, and Administration, Moses Korea, emphasized the importance of digital literacy in the current age, especially given the significant gap noted in the arid and semi-arid land counties.

“In the education stakeholders’ trilogy of digital devices, teachers, and content, the child should be at the center,” he said.

He noted that the EIDU digital literacy initiative targeting Early Childhood Development would complement the project for primary schools, further enhancing ICT knowledge among learners.

The FCDC Education and Governance Sector Lead, Abdullahi Hassan Maalim, said that one of the key areas the project is keen on is sustainability for possible scalability.

While closing the training, the Director for the Teacher Service Commission (Turkana County), Sammy Loitakol, urged the teachers to utilize their knowledge and share it with their fellow teachers.

“Even as you educate the learners, also improve your lesson presentation to have more impact,” he said.

As the facilitator of the training, County ICT Officer Washington Odoyo highlighted the importance of technology in education, particularly within the CBC, as the project would enrich the learners with the digital skills required in today’s world.

The ICT teachers were each issued laptops and certificates.