Education

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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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COVID-19: Education replaced by shuttered schools, violence, teenage pregnancy. World

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World/06-08-2021/Author and Source: news.un.org

A culture of “safety, friends and food” at school has been replaced by “anxiety, violence, and teenage pregnancy”, with remote learning out of reach for millions, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said on Tuesday.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, “more than 600 million children in countries not on academic break are still affected by school closures”, James Elder, UNICEF spokesperson at a press conference at UN Geneva.

In countries such as Uganda, this has led to a “20 per cent spike in the last 15 months in teen pregnancies, or pregnancies of 10-24-year-old girls, who were seeking antenatal care. Across the globe in all continents we’ve seen child helplines, a good precursor to understanding kids who are reporting violence, seeing often triple-digit increases,” said Elder.

COVID-19 school closures

In nearly half of countries in Asia and the Pacific, schools have been closed for around 200 days. Latin America and the Caribbean have seen some of the longest closures ever with 18 countries and territories affected by either full or partial closures.

As of today, the UN agency estimates in Eastern and Southern Africa that 40 per cent of all children aged 5 to 18, are currently out of school.

Elder added that if these figures “did not resonate with those in power, then a World Bank report estimates a loss of $10 trillion in earnings over time”, for this generation of students.

Remote learning ‘out of reach’

A teenage student studies at home during the COVID-19 lockdown in Uganda.
© UNICEF/Francis Emorut
A teenage student studies at home during the COVID-19 lockdown in Uganda.

Equally alarming is the fact that the solution of remote learning is “simply out of reach” for at least a third of the world’s schoolchildren, the UNICEF spokesperson continued. In East Asia and the Pacific, “80 million children have no access whatsoever to any remote learning.

In Eastern and Southern Africa, Uganda school children have gone more than 300 days out of school, while home internet connectivity “is the lowest on the planet there at about 0.3%”.

‘Situation cannot go on’

In a call for action, UNICEF appealed for five main steps: Schools should reopen as soon as possible; governments and donors must protect the education budget; enrolment should be extended to children who were already out of school pre‑COVID‑19 – by removing financial barriers and loosening registration requirements – and cash transfers to the most vulnerable, must be increased.

“Everything needs to be done to bring an end to the pandemic,” Mr. Elder said, starting with making vaccines available everywhere by sharing excess doses and financing to support the roll-out of vaccines.

Source and Image: https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/07/1096502

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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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France: Le ministère de l’enseignement supérieur et de la recherche (MESR) ne respecte toujours pas l’ordonnance du Conseil d’État rétablissant la FERC dans ses droits syndicaux fondamentaux !

Noticias

Europe/France/07-09-2021/ Auteur et Source: www.ferc-cgt.org

Tout commence au début de l’été 2020 en pleine discussion sur la loi de programmation de la recherche (LPR) lorsque le SGEN-CFDT et la ministre Frédérique Vidal s’entendent pour élaborer un protocole d’accord sur les carrières et rémunérations dans le cadre de la LPR.

F. Vidal communique à l’AEF début juillet annonçant la tenue de réunions au plus vite avec le SGEN, l’UNSA et le SNPTES pour travailler à l’élaboration du protocole… Les autres syndicats ont droit à quelques bilatérales et multilatérales fin août et début septembre. Le ministère fixe la signature du protocole pour début septembre. Cette précipitation est justifiée, selon lui, pour inciter les député·es à voter les budgets dédiés aux mesures salariales lors du passage de la loi à l’assemblée ! En septembre, la FERC est purement et simplement sortie des réunions de « concertations » !
In fine, le SGEN, le SNPTES et l’UNSA signeront le protocole d’accord « rémunération et carrières » le 12 octobre en grande pompe à Matignon en présence du 1er ministre.

Le MESR a acheté la signature des syndicats dits réformistes en leur faisant miroiter l’exclusivité de la négociation sur les mesures salariales et ce sur une période allant de 2021 à 2030 ! Depuis le début, l’objectif de cet accord est d’exclure les syndicats dont la combativité ne convient pas à la ministre.

Devant une telle déloyauté dans l’élaboration du protocole ainsi que dans son contenu qui donne carte blanche pendant 10 ans aux 3 syndicats signataires pour mener toutes les négociations avec le MESR, la FERC et l’UFSE ont décidé d’ester en justice. Un 1er mémoire portant sur la déloyauté dans le déroulé des négociations et sur la privation des libertés fondamentales de la CGT a été déposé au tribunal administratif (TA) de Paris le 12 décembre. Cette saisine est toujours en cours instruction. En février, nous avons décidé de déposer un référé-liberté, procédure d’urgence car les réunions du comité de suivi avaient débuté « en cachette ».

Le 9 mars le TA donne raison à la FERC. Il expose que les négociations sur les carrières et les rémunérations sont bien des prérogatives de toutes les organisations syndicales représentatives. Elles ne sont pas réservées aux seuls signataires d’un accord qui leur donne un mandat de négociation salariale au lieu de leur donner un mandat sur le suivi dudit protocole d’accord. Le juge énonce : l’absence de convocation de la FERC-CGT à ces réunions porte une atteinte grave et manifestement illégale à la liberté syndicale, laquelle présente le caractère d’une liberté fondamentale au sens de l’article L. 521-2 du code de justice administrative.

Non, la ministre n’a pas le droit de choisir ses interlocuteur·trices, ce sont les personnels qui les choisissent en les élisant !

Le DRH adjoint se permet lors d’un comité technique de critiquer la décision du juge « qui aurait méconnu le droit » et déclare que la ministre prendra seule la décision d’aller en recours en Conseil d’État : ce qu’elle fit.

Le 16 avril, le Conseil d’État confirme la décision du TA en donnant raison à la CGT contre la ministre de l’ESR. Les petites réunions entre ami·es, c’est fini ! La FERC et l’UFSE viennent d’obtenir le respect des libertés fondamentales dévolues à toute organisation syndicale représentative.
F. Vidal a tenu, avec l’appui de la ministre de la Fonction publique, à remettre en cause le jugement du TA de Paris, le Conseil d’État, la plus haute juridiction en la matière, l’a vertement déboutée !
Depuis, le ministère ne nous a
toujours pas informés de la tenue des réunions du comité de suivi alors même qu’il a fourni au juge le calendrier et les ordres du jour des
réunions d’ici fin juin.

Seul un État totalitaire ne respecte pas les décisions des plus hautes autorités de justice ! Nous continuerons à défendre les droits des agent·es ! Nous n’en resterons pas là !

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Source et Image: https://www.ferc-cgt.org/le-ministere-de-l-enseignement-superieur-et-de-la-recherche-mesr-ne-respecte

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