Twenty-five teachers selected from teacher training colleges (TTCs), Centre for Maths and Science and Technology Education in Africa (CEMASTEA), Kenya Institute of Education (KIE) and Kenya Education Staff Institute (KESI) will be incorporating e-learning teaching methods and teach others. 'Intel wants to extend the reach and impact of teachers. We believe this initiative will change the way teachers plan and execute their class lessons,' emphasised Andre Christian, Intel Education Manager for Sub-Saharan and South Africa. There are 250,000 teachers in Kenya, thus online material will be provided to orient them in the training program being facilitated by the KIE and Intel. The program is already successfully being carried out in South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt, whereby schools have adapted their curricula to embrace e-learning to improve the academic performance of students. 'The Kenyan government is committed to helping teachers access and use technology to improve their teaching. We know that technology and e-learning will help increase and improve the skills of our teachers, which will have a major benefit to Kenyan students,' said Prof Karega Mutahi, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education during the Intel Teach Program launch.
Rapid improvements in technology in the recent past have led to globalisation, especially in mobile telephones and the Internet. This has led to what is now currently referred to as a knowledge based economy. Growth in this sector has been impeded by high costs of Internet connectivity; but this is expected to change with the arrival of the undersea fiber optic cables in Mombasa by July this year. In the current global economic crisis, countries that are knowledge based economies are bound to survive better than resource based economies and in this scenario, Kenya will have a better chance to compete and be at par with the rest of the world. The Education Ministry has put in place policy strategies aimed at addressing the issue of ICT in the education sector. In addition, the ministry has embarked on a number of initiatives towards the adoption and integration of ICT in education. Some of the programs have ensured that learning institutions are equipped with facilities such as technicians, computers and connection services.
