Nyeri schools get digital learning boost as 178 smart boards, laptops arrive

Junior secondary schools in Nyeri County are set to receive a major digital learning boost following the rollout of 178 interactive smart boards and an equal number of laptops for trained teachers.

East African Community, ASAL and Regional Development Principal Secretary Dr Caroline Karugu said the initiative was part of President William Ruto’s digital transformation agenda aimed at equipping learners with skills needed to thrive in an increasingly technology-driven economy.

Karugu spoke on Monday at Nyaribo Primary School in Nyeri County during the handover ceremony for the interactive smart boards and laptops under the Kenya Digital Economy Acceleration Project (KDEAP).

She said the Government’s digital learning programme was designed to create a generation capable of not only consuming knowledge but also creating and sharing it with the rest of the world.

“Digital learning is part of President William Ruto's vision and agenda under the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), which envisions creating a digital highway,” Karugu said.

“For you to create a digital highway, you must have a generation that is digitally empowered.”

She said the 178 smart boards would provide learners with interactive platforms through which they could collaborate with their peers and access knowledge from across the globe.

“We are tasking our children not only to be consumers of knowledge but also to be creators of this knowledge and be able to share it globally,” she said.

Karugu said a learner at Nyaribo Primary School would now have an opportunity to interact and share knowledge with learners in other parts of the world, describing the programme as a transformational initiative.

However, she cautioned learners against the dangers that come with increased access to digital platforms, saying the online space was not entirely safe.

“I sensitised the learners that the entire digital space is not 100 per cent safe. We have some predators who have infiltrated that space,” she said.

She said the Government, through teachers, would continue sensitising learners on responsible and safe use of the internet to ensure technology contributes positively to their education.

The programme, being implemented nationally by the ICT Authority, seeks to equip public primary schools with interactive smart boards to make lessons more engaging, collaborative and interactive.

The rollout is expected to strengthen digital literacy among learners while giving teachers additional tools to deliver lessons in a technology-enabled learning environment.