In The News

Mobile technology is now being used for everything from paying bus fares to eye tests, donating money for disaster relief to distance learning.  ICT for development remains a big issue in Africa and here’s a sweep of some of the latest developments that we’ve been following at Indigo.

E-learning

Governments in East Africa are pressing ahead with their ambitious e-learning plans for schools. Uhuru Kenyatta’s election promise of providing all pupils starting school in 2014 with a free laptop has been met with mixed reactions and mixed results. If plans are successful, the next generation of Kenyans will be equipped with unparalleled IT skills. Teachers, however, are split on the project. Some have embraced it as a welcome attempt to improve standards of education, part of the country’s Vision 2030 goals, while others cite the raft of more immediate problems in the school system. An interesting and comprehensive analysis of the system’s problems can be found here.

While the education secretary insisted this week that the project was on track, reports are rife of a coming crisis. The lowest cost tender has come in at triple the proposed budget, potentially putting the whole project in jeopardy.