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Kenya National Library Service embraces technology amidst Covid-19

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Africa/Kenya/27-08-2021/Author and Source: www.kbc.co.ke

Kenya National Library Service (KNLS) has created programmes aimed at ensuring the youths continue with their research and lessons during the pandemic period.

Eldoret branch Principal Librarian Ruth Jemo said the library has introduced computer literacy training programmes to equip youths with the necessary technological skills needed during the pandemic period.

“At the moment we have 16 trainees who started their training at the beginning of the month and we expect more as we continue,” she said.

Jemo indicated that the library has beefed up its cyber, WIFI, and LAN capabilities to ensure young people interested in research and learning enjoy uninterrupted services at the library.

She further said a partnership with the Uasin Gishu County government has enabled the library to set up a well-equipped cyber section to allow students to participate in online classes free of charge.

Entrance of Kenya National Library in Eldoret.

Data by The World Economic Forum stipulate that over 1.2 billion children from 186 countries were forced out of school by the coronavirus pandemic compelling schools to adopt online solutions to bridge the gap.

Apart from the cyber café, Jemo indicated that the library has made arrangements to accommodate more students by converting the children section into a makeshift study area for adults.

“We also have personal booths that can be used by both students and teachers engaged in online learning. These booths have internet facilities to ensure smooth services,” she said.

“Part of KNLS’ strategic plan is to enhance the availability of resources through the utilization of modern technologies,” she said, adding that the Covid-19 pandemic has furnished them with an opportunity of accommodating technology in their day-to-day services.

The library has also rolled out business skills programmes designed to educate youths on matters of online business and communication skills.

“We have book talks on topical issues where we invite speakers to cover issues affecting the youths in this country,” she said.

Source and Image: https://www.kbc.co.ke/kenya-national-library-service-embraces-technology-amidst-covid-19/

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Kenya: 90 schools to get internet connection under Digital Literacy Programme

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Africa/Kenya/20-08-2021/Author and Source: www.kbc.co.ke

Nokia, Safaricom, UNICEF, the Ministry of Education and Ministry of ICT have announced a joint initiative that will connect at least 90 schools with high speed internet.

Under the Digital Leraning Programme, the initiative aims to ‘connect the unconnected’, with the ultimate goal of supporting the Kenyan Government’s plans to scale broadband connection to all schools by 2030.

“As part of our Transforming Lives purpose and vision to become a purpose-led technology company, we are always looking for partnerships that allow us to use our services to deliver social impact in areas aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals. Our shared value partnership with UNICEF and Nokia allows us to connect schools in underprivileged areas and increase access to digital literacy. This will ensure that the students there are not left behind when it comes to reaping the benefits of an ever-increasing digital society,” said Peter Ndegwa, CEO of Safaricom.

The connected schools are spread across rural and informal urban settlements in Kenya, serving an estimated 32,670 students.

Schools are using Nokia’s FastMile 4G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) broadband solution to provide reliable, high-speed connectivity delivered over Safaricom’s 4G/LTE network. Nokia’s meshed WiFi Beacon technology is used to boost the Internet signal in selected classrooms and computer labs.

“An important belief that we hold at Nokia is the need to provide ‘broadband for all’. With remote learning becoming the prevailing issue during the Covid-19 pandemic, the topic of digital equity takes center stage again, so we are excited that this collaboration will facilitate access to many students currently unconnected. This is an initiative we are very proud to be a part of and hope that it is a significant step to a brighter future for all those reaping its benefits,” said Amr K. El Leithy, Nokia Senior Vice-president for Middle East and Africa Market.

The importance of good connectivity has been highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. School closures in Kenya in 2020 meant that children had to stay at home for six to nine months, leaving them reliant on remote learning.

The digital divide meant that students who could access the internet were better placed to continue with their learning.

“Children have a right to access quality education wherever they are, yet for too long, the digital divide has prevented disadvantaged children from enjoying the same benefits as their connected peers. By connecting schools to the Internet – with a focus on the most disadvantaged areas – we can start to level the playing field. This allows students and teachers to gain digital skills and access the latest education materials, providing a brighter future for some of the most vulnerable children in Kenya,” added Maniza, UNICEF Kenya Country Representative.

Schools equipped with a broadband connection, digital devices and teacher training will now be able to make better use of video communication, digital curricula and online content, thereby improving digital literacy and skills among school children.

Source and Image: https://www.kbc.co.ke/90-schools-to-get-internet-connection-under-digital-literacy-programme/

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Kenya: KICD denies over supplying schools with text books

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Africa/Kenya/13-08-2021/Author: ANTONY GITONGA/Source: www.kbc.co.ke

The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) has denied claims that it authorized the oversupply of textbooks in public schools across the country.

The institute has attributed the move to the mass transfer of students from one school to the other due to Covid-19 that saw parents lose jobs and relocate to their rural homes.

In the last couple of months, headteachers and leaders have cried foul over the continuous dumping of unwanted books in the schools by printers.

Some schools have been forced to buy plastic water tanks to store the books with their stores already filled up.

But according to KICD Director Professor Charles Omondo, the flooding had affected a few schools after learners were transferred at the height of the pandemic.

“A few schools that were affected by the transfers had problems with the books supply but we are reviewing this problem,” he said.

Omondo at the same time denied that set books were being changed every year noting that KICD had evaluated all the books needed by schools.

“We have given teachers the books that have met the threshold and they are supposed to pick one per subject while the others can be used by the teachers for reference,” he said.

Addressing the press in Central Primary school in Naivasha, the director added that they are visiting schools to ensure grade five pupils have received learning materials.

He said that plans for the transition from 8-4-4 to Competence-Based Curriculum (CBC) system were in place with the government moving in to build in more classes.

KICD has further disassociated itself from a long list of books being demanded by some private schools

Earlier, Gilgil Mp Martha Wangari had raised an alert over the possible loss of millions of shillings in procurement of textbooks for public schools.

According to the Mp, schools were oversupplied with hundreds of books that they did not need as part of the capitation fees that went to pay the printers.

“It’s time that we allowed teachers to procure the books that they need and we should put a threshold on the amount used to buy the books,” she said.

She added that tens of schools in the country had been oversupplied with books that they did not require while set books were being changed every year.

“When parliament resumes we shall summon the CS for Education to clarify on this issue where printers are dumping unwanted books in schools,” she said.

Source and Image: https://www.kbc.co.ke/kicd-denies-over-supplying-schools-with-unwanted-text-books/

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Estudio: El reto africano de recuperar las clases perdidas

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Tras el cierre de escuelas por la covid-19, África debe reformar la educación para paliar los atrasos en el aprendizaje que lastrarán a la próxima generación. Hay soluciones, según esta nueva investigación.

La pandemia de covid-19 ha provocado una conmoción histórica en la educación al haber cerrado las escuelas de más de 1.600 millones de niños en el mundo. Esta sacudida empeorará una crisis educativa que ya existía de antes y en la que muchos estudiantes aprendían ya muy poco en la escuela. El Banco Mundial prevé que el porcentaje de niños analfabetos a los 10 años podría ascender del 53% (número anterior a la pandemia) al 63% debido al cierre de centros educativos.

Estos déficits en la enseñanza podrían derivarse de una combinación de elementos: el olvido de lo estudiado anteriormente y la falta de lo que se habría aprendido si las escuelas no hubiesen cerrado. Tales pérdidas se pueden acumular en el largo plazo. Los alumnos que se reincorporan a los colegios, muy atrasados con respecto a las previsiones de los planes de estudio, pueden estar demasiado rezagados para aprender de la enseñanza diaria, por lo que se quedarían aún más atrás.

Este nuevo estudio, que publicamos en International Journal of Educational Development, analiza cuánto aprendizaje puede perderse en Etiopía, Kenia, Liberia, Tanzania y Uganda como consecuencia del cierre en la pandemia. Utilizamos datos de las evaluaciones de lectura de los primeros cursos en estos cinco países. Nuestro modelo indica que podría haber hasta un año de atraso en el aprendizaje a corto plazo. Nuestros cálculos advierten de que estos déficits se distribuirán de manera desigual y quienes se quedarán más atrás serán los estudiantes que empezaron con niveles de aprendizaje más bajos.

Según nuestros cálculos, estos déficits en el aprendizaje a corto plazo podrían acumularse en 2,8 años de déficit en el largo plazo. Así sucede si el plan de estudios –a menudo este es demasiado ambicioso y no se corresponde con los niveles de aprendizaje de los estudiantes– no se ajusta para permitir que los estudiantes alcancen el nivel que se les exige.

Oportunidad histórica para la reforma

Pero ese no tiene por qué ser el resultado final. Aunque la covid-19 ha frenado el aprendizaje, es posible una reforma audaz y la pandemia brinda una oportunidad histórica para renovar los sistemas educativos. Podría ser el momento de instaurar prácticas y políticas que ya eran necesarias para abordar la crisis educativa subyacente desde hace décadas.

En la revisión de los trabajos existentes se identifican dos estrategias para mitigar las pérdidas en el aprendizaje y mejorarlo incluso más allá de los niveles previos a la covid-19. Esta revisión se fundamenta en una creciente base de intervenciones que han funcionado a escala en países de ingresos bajos y medios para mejorar la alfabetización y las aptitudes básicas de aritmética.

La primera estrategia consiste en adaptar la enseñanza al nivel de aprendizaje del alumno. Esto se puede conseguir a un bajo coste mediante una prueba de conocimiento del niño durante el proceso de formación –lo que se conoce como evaluación formativa– y una variedad de actividades ajustadas al nivel de cada alumno. Esta estrategia tiene más potencial que una enseñanza prescriptiva basada en un único plan de estudios.

Podría ser el momento de instaurar prácticas y políticas que han sido necesarias para abordar la crisis educativa subyacente desde hace décadas en África

La segunda estrategia consiste en introducir programas estructurados de pedagogía que combinen planes de clases estructuradas, formación del profesorado y apoyo escolar. En la situación actual, muchos profesores suelen verse obligados a arreglárselas solos y redactar sus propios planes diarios de clases. Si se proporciona un apoyo estructurado y continuo, pueden conseguirse grandes avances en el aprendizaje.

En estudios anteriores se ha comprobado que ambas propuestas mejoran el aprendizaje en tres años de escolarización de alta calidad por un coste de 100 dólares. Estos avances son casi equivalentes a la brecha educativa en el sistema por niveles entre Zambia, uno de los países con menor rendimiento del África subsahariana, y Kenia, uno de los de mayor rendimiento.

El modelo indica que la corrección a corto plazo mediante estas estrategias puede paliar considerablemente los atrasos en el aprendizaje. Y lo que es más sorprendente, las ambiciosas reformas vinculadas a estas estrategias –como la adaptación en el largo plazo de la enseñanza a los niveles de los alumnos– no solo pueden aplacar todos los déficits formativos, sino que también mejoran los niveles de aprendizaje previos a la covid-19.

Países que ya han empezado

En el estudio exponemos algunos ejemplos de países que están empezando a implementar estas reformas, como Botsuana y Madagascar. En la segunda región más grande de Botsuana, el noreste, el director del Ministerio de Educación Básica solicitó a todas las escuelas que realizaran una evaluación formativa y aplicaran la enseñanza específica de manera inmediata. Y así se hizo cuando reabrieron las escuelas en junio de 2020 tras la primera ola de cierres a causa de la covid-19.

La región actualizó las funciones y las responsabilidades del personal educativo para regularizar esta reforma. Se celebraron sesiones formativas con el apoyo de la ONG que dirijo, una de las mayores dedicadas a la juventud del país, Young 1ove, en colaboración con USAID y Unicef. El Ministerio esperaba que se informara con frecuencia de los progresos realizados y el director regional visitó directamente las escuelas para supervisar la implementación. Aunque aún no se disponen de pruebas causales, los primeros datos indican que los niveles de aprendizaje están mejorando más rápido que en otras regiones.

Hay iniciativas de reforma esperanzadoras en el continente africano, pero muy pocos países han dado pasos hasta la fecha

Madagascar constituye otro ejemplo. El Gobierno ha reforzado el programa nacional para la recuperación, llamado CRAN, que antes de la pandemia había estado proporcionando un periodo de aprendizaje intensivo de dos meses a los niños en función de su nivel. A finales de 2018, CRAN se había implementado con el apoyo de Unicef en siete de las 22 regiones de Madagascar. A finales de 2020 y en respuesta al cierre de escuelas por la covid-19 se aceleró esta implementación. Aunque el Gobierno y Unicef están en las primeras etapas del proyecto, este demuestra cómo los Gobiernos pueden reforzar los programas actuales para cambiar las prácticas de docencia y aprendizaje.

Estas iniciativas de reforma son esperanzadoras, pero muy pocos países han dado pasos hasta la fecha. Si no se toman medidas urgentes, los atrasos en el aprendizaje a corto plazo podrían atrofiar a la próxima generación de estudiantes de por vida, lo que conllevaría posibles consecuencias intergeneracionales. La covid-19 presenta la necesidad de actuar con urgencia y brinda una oportunidad para concebir soluciones diferentes. Tal vez algunos sistemas educativos se reformen para alcanzar el tan ansiado objetivo de una educación para todos.

Noam Angrist es el director de Young 1ove, ONG que apoya al Gobierno de Botsuana para promulgar las reformas educativas mencionadas en este texto.

Fuente: https://elpais.com/planeta-futuro/2021-08-04/el-reto-africano-de-recuperar-las-clases-perdidas.html#:~:text=Tras%20el%20cierre%20de%20escuelas,lastrar%C3%A1n%20a%20la%20pr%C3%B3xima%20generaci%C3%B3n.&text=La%20pandemia%20de%20covid%2D19,de%20ni%C3%B1os%20en%20el%20mundo.

 

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Kenya: PS Nabukwesi says research will improve quality of higher education

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Africa/Kenya/30-07-2021/Author:ERIC BIEGON, KNA/Source: www.kbc.co.ke

The Principal Secretary in the State Department of University Education and Research Amb. Simon Nabukwesi has yet again made a case for more research in the country’s institutions of higher learning.

Speaking during the official opening of the 5th Annual Conference of the Co-operative University of Kenya, Amb Nabukwesi noted that nations that lack the capacity to carry out their own research, struggle when faced with challenges such as the current covid-19 pandemic.

“Covid-19 global pandemic shows us, in more ways than we could have imagined, that we are all connected as a people irrespective of the many boundaries and restrictions that we may have,” The PS said,

He added that “when the first case of Covid-19 was reported in Kenya, most of us, if not all, imagined that this would be a passing cloud and that soon we would resume our normal day to day activities”

Nabukwesi however expressed satisfaction given that during the two-day-Conference, a number of academic papers will be presented under the theme of ‘Social and Solidarity Economy as a catalyst for resilience, inclusivity, and attainment of Sustainable Development Goals,’

“I am glad to hear that this is the second conference that the University is holding virtually, to discuss Covid-19, a commendable achievement to the University and organizers of this event,” remarked the PS.

This kind of resilience, Nabukwesi said, emphasizes that life has to indeed move on and research has to be done and documented. He emphasized that research is, will remain to be, a major activity in any institution of higher learning worth its name.

Further, the PS said research informs the development strategies of any nation and Kenya is no exception.

“It has been reported that less than two percent of all Africans are vaccinated against Covid-19 while in the US it is about 50 percent,” added Nabukwesi.

This Report, the PS said, is a sad reality that serves as an eye-opener for developing countries such as Kenya, that special attention and resources ought to be directed towards research and development.

Nabukwesi said the Ministry continues to lay great emphasis on the importance of research as a means to solving Kenyan, African, and even global challenges.

“My challenge to faculty in this University is to contribute to the generation of new knowledge on Cooperatives and how Cooperatives can help us to resolve societal challenges,” added the PS.

Nabukwesi said that he would like to see more research from faculty that focuses, among other topics, on how the country can harness the greatness of Cooperatives to contribute to the Government’s Development Agenda, including contributing to the ‘Big Four’ Agenda.

Source and Image: https://www.kbc.co.ke/ps-nabukwesi-says-research-will-improve-quality-of-higher-education/

 

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Kenya: Clergymen call for review of tax regime, reduction of school fees

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Africa/Kenya/23-07-2021/Author: Christine Muchira/Source: kbc.co.ke

Religious leaders have faulted the government of Kenya for the high cost of living occasioned by rise in prices of basic commodities, and called for a review of the current tax regime to cushion Kenyans from the tough economic times.

Speaking at Kangeta in Igembe Central, Meru County Sunday when they presided over the induction of two church ministers into Archdeacons, the head of the National Independent Church of Africa (NICA) Archbishop Dr. Stephen Marete and Bishop Stephen Kalunyu who heads the NICA Mission Diocese which covers Meru, Isiolo and Marsabit noted that the suffering of Kenyans had reached record levels never witnessed before, calling upon those in authority to urgently consider reviewing the current tax regime which will bring a sigh of relief to vulnerable Kenyans.

Archbishop Marete advised that the tough economic times calls for proper priorities by the government, arguing that projects like the BBI referendum which is currently on halt could wait for better times, arguing that the Covid 19 pandemic has already worsened the situation.

The Cleric also faulted the move by a number of universities to increase school fees which led to student protests, arguing that such a move was ill advised and untimely.

He noted that even the previous amounts charged by the institutions of learning were already an uphill task for struggling Kenyans to raise and should therefore be reduced to manageable levels.

Source and Image: https://www.kbc.co.ke/clergymen-tax-regime-school-fees/

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Kenya: 99 students, 4 teachers at Muruku school, Laikipia contract Covid

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Africa/Kenya/16-07-2021/Author: Margaret Kalekye/Source: www.kbc.co.ke

99 students and four teachers at Muruku secondary school in Laikipia County have tested positive for Covid-19.

The number is the highest to be recorded in a learning institution in Kenya.

According to Laikipia county Chief officer of health Dr Donald Moghoi, the cases were confirmed from 264 samples tested at the school last Friday after a number of students started showing coronavirus related symptoms.

Those affected have since been quarantined at the institution under the care of Ministry of Health officials.

Of the 99 cases, 40 are male while 59 are female. Dr Moghoi said all of the 17 teachers who were tested, three are female and one male who are currently receiving treatment at Ol jabet and Benedict Catholic hospitals in Nyahururu respectively.

Learning for other students at the institution is still going on. Most schools are administering third term exams and are set to close this Friday, according to the school calendar issued by the Ministry of Education.

Since the pandemic struck the country last year, several schools have been affected, with some being closed indefinitely as others put their students, teachers and workers under quarantine.

Kenya continues to record more COVID-19 positive cases in recent weeks, with experts warning of a looming fourth wave.

But the ministry of education insists that children are safe in schools and that learning will go uninterrupted.

Covid cases

As of Monday, June 12, the country’s caseload stood at  188,942 after 188 new cases were reported.

The positivity rate is now 8.0% while cumulative tests so far conducted are 2,018,013.

Source and Image: https://www.kbc.co.ke/99-students-4-teachers-at-muruku-school-laikipia-contract-covid/

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