ICT answer to teacher shortage, says ministry

By Augustine OduorMinistry of Education is forging partner with stakeholders in an e-learning initiative to help address shortage of teachers.
Director of Quality Assurance and Standards Enos Oyaya said with ICT, a single teacher could serve many learners in several schools.
"Today, a teacher confines himself to learners physically present in class. This means many more cannot benefit from the teacher’s services. ICT will reverse this," he said.
The country has a deficit of 61,000 teachers. Last year, only 18,000 teachers were employed on contract.
Standard Group Chief Operating Officer Sarvjeet Channa challenged the Government to promote ICT programmes.
"Online media has equipped youth to access information at the tap of a button. It saves time and financial resources for parents, guardians and youth while they consult on various educational options they desire to undertake," he said.
Mr Channa said ICT should be incorporated in primary and secondary school syllabus. He urged the Government to ensure access in rural areas.
The two spoke at Serena Hotel, Nairobi, on Tuesday during the launch of Express Communications Ltd (ECL) education website -www.educationinkenya.com.
The project is a partnership between ECL and Standard Group. Kenya Commercial Bank also sponsored the function.
ECL managing director Sammy Masara described the website as a ‘supermarket’ for education information. He said the website will eliminate challenges of education information distribution as it would be accessed globally any time.
"We are challenging stakeholders to adopt new technology in public and private sectors because it also exposes businesses to the world," he said.
Oyaya said the Government was already putting up necessary infrastructure to realise the plan.
He said the project was part of the initial Economic Stimulus Package plan to purchase 300 refurbished computers per constituency.
"About 1,050 schools have been selected to pilot the ICT programme and are already receiving money towards purchase of equipment," he said.
About Sh980 million has been set aside to roll out the project and each school would receive Sh1 million.