On 11th August 2014, I launched the Mathira constituency teachers’ computer training program at Karatina University. The program was informed by the need to well equip the primary school teaching workforce with basic IT knowledge in computer packages, applications and programs in readiness for the Jubilee government’s primary school laptop initiative. This ICT course is to be rolled out at Karatina University who have undertaken to tailor make a computer course outline that targets to ensure the teachers acquire the most essential computer skills and in the shortest time possible. Most importantly, the course outline is designed in such a way that, after the successful completion of the program, the teachers can comfortably apply their skills in IT in a classroom situation. Data from the teachers’ service commission tabulated that the total number of primary school teachers in both Mathira East and West district in the year 2014 currently stands at 798. It was however noted with concern that, quite a number of them had minimal or no basics in IT thus making it quite difficult for them to embrace and subsequently roll out the laptop program in their respective schools. This necessitated the implementation of this initiative. The ICT course is scheduled to run from August 2014 all the way to April 2015, whereby teachers will undertake a school based kind of training; meaning they will be trained every time the schools break for the normal one month holiday. To effectively roll out the initiative and to ensure the teachers get the most out of the training, the program will be phased, whereby at most 270 teachers will take up the semi detailed course at any one time, monthly. The program will then be run during the August, December and April holidays culminating to the graduation ceremony in June. At the end of this period, MCTCTP targets to achieve a well-trained, skilled and computer literate teaching force capable of applying their knowledge in IT in a classroom situation. Bottom line is; the students are guaranteed first class learning from a well-equipped IT literate teaching force thereby realizing maximum gains from the Jubilee government’s laptop imitative in our primary schools. Finally This ICT program is in line with the four cardinal national goals of education: To improve quality of teaching and learning, improve the delivery of and access to education, contribute to the transformation of education system to sustain economic growth and to achieve the human resource demands of the nation as encapsulated in Kenya vision 2030.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 09:23:50 +0000
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