[kictanet] 6, 000 primary schools picked for free laptop project

[Adam Nelson]

While it sucks for the students without electricity, I'm not sure if I
would make a different choice.

If I were in charge, I would just take the money and invest in teachers and
increasing the number of grades for which free schooling is available.
 Well educated people existed before computers and this focus on what I
would call vocational training (i.e. how to use a computer) is
shortsighted.

But anyway, with a fixed bag of money and a mandate to get these computers
out and not every school having electricity, that's the only logical
choice.  The purpose of the computers is to raise the educational
attainment of the country's young people as a whole and those with
electricity access will be cheaper to educate using computers than those
without computers.

IMHO, the problem is the whole laptop endeavour, not the implementation.

---
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On Thu, May 30, 2013 at 11:45 AM, Walubengo J <jwalu at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Listers,
>
> This project seems to have just kicked off on the wrong tangent...was
> wondering how they would select WHICH primary schools would get the laptops
> and was shocked to read:
>
> >>
>
> He (Kaimenyi, Cabinet Sec. for Education)  said the availability of
> electricity and nearness to the main grid was the basis used in deciding
> the schools selection criteria.
> In every three schools with electricity connection, the ministry has
> selected one school close to the mains grid and another one that is far
> away from the grid....
>
> >> adopted from
> http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000084770&story_title=6-000-primary-schools-picked-for-free-laptop-project&pageNo=2
>
> Never mind that I thought these laptops would "solar-powered".  But now it
> looks like if you are lucky to live near an electricity pole, your luck
> doubles as you get a bonus benefit  of a laptop. If you happen to leave
> very far from one (think Pokot, Turkana, Tana River, Wajir, etc) your tough
> luck just got tougher.  I cant think of a better way of "extending" rather
> than "bridging" the digital divide..
>
> walu.
> nb: Mutoro:-sounds like you guys are going to have a very busy year in
> courts :-)
>
>
>
>
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