20 million Kenyans set to be trained as coding syllabus launched

More than twenty million Kenyans will be trained on digital skills so they can be competitive in the global market. The training is part of the Kenya National Digital Masterplan 2020-2030.

The Masterplan is anchored on four pillars of digital infrastructure development, digital skills and digital innovation, digital services and data management, enterprise and digital business.

It is being implemented at a cost of Sh5billion.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru said the training will prepare Kenyans, to become architects of the digital age where they can be producers and not just consumers.

The ICT Authority in partnership with Kodris Africa, a technology firm that offers coding syllabus, will oversee the implementation of the project.

“We have a ten-year programme where we want to train 20 million Kenyans to acquire ICT skills. The training costs will be catered for by the government,” Mucheru said at the launch of the programme in Nairobi. “In the 21st digital economy, we must build human capacity of our citizens to enable them become innovators and producers as opposed to being producers.”

Mucheru also launched the computer coding curriculum support material on a pilot basis. They are targeted at 100 public primary and 50 secondary schools under the digital literacy programme.

Coding is the process of converting human intentions into commands that computers can understand. The lessons will be presented to the learners through an interactive online studio. 

“The coding syllabus has been integrated into the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) system and after piloting, we shall roll it out in the whole country. In support of the project, we have distributed more than 1.2 million laptops and connected over 22,000 schools to electricity,” Mucheru said.

“For the success of the project, we are considering the devices (laptops) to support the programme so that all learners in primary and secondary schools are reached.”

Mwaniki Munuhe, the chair of Kodris Africa, said that in order to ensure that the content delivered is of quality, they partnered with Pearson, the largest private education company in the world, and they will be evaluating the progress of the syllabus.

“As a result of this partnership, we now have an integration matrix that demonstrates how coding through Kodris Africa supports the CBC learning pillars. I am particularly encouraged to note that the government’s digital literacy programme has made Kenya ready for deployment of coding content,” Mwaniki said.

“The programme has achieved substantial yet unsung success in distributing devices and the means to access the Internet.”

Mwaniki said Kodris Africa has developed a teacher’s guide that breaks down how to teach every lesson and how to introduce various concepts to students.

“We must prepare our young ones to claim their place as global citizens by introducing them to the next biggest and universal language. That language is coding. We want them to go to school to acquire knowledge that is relevant to their most ambitious objectives,” Mwaniki said.

The curriculum support material has already been approved by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD).

Kodris Africa CEO Mugumo Munene said that coding curriculum will enhance students’ technological skills and put them on the scope in the ever-growing world of technology, and prepare them for the job market.