KICD, TSC, Safaricom, and Microsoft to Team Up To Train Teachers Digitals Skills

The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) is going to offer a digital training programme for teachers as part of a plan to enhance virtual learning and teaching.

The need for teachers to improve their digital skills has never been required more than in these times of COVID-19. Many countries in Africa and the world at large were caught unawares with no set systems to take over once face-to-face learning was paralyzed by the novel coronavirus. This has necessitated a rethink in the Ministry of Education and now students and teachers are going to benefit a great deal.

The training will be a joint effort by KICD, The Teachers Service Commission (TSC), and Microsoft. The intention of the training is to ensure teachers are equipped with skills for developing and delivering quality digital content. The need for these skills arose after the closure of all learning institutions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Safaricom is also involved in this process, as they will be providing education bundles to both learners and teachers.

KICD has also made changes to its educational broadcasting studio, the Edu TV channel. These changes to the broadcasting studio are to provide a mode of interaction and enhance the delivery of content to learners. The Edu TV channel is the only broadcasting station airing educational content.

Making Edu TV Channel Appealing to Learners

The studio shall be designed in such a manner that it can accommodate the various levels of learning in the current education system. For the lower classes, they will provide an interactive and multidimensional designed background to capture the imagination and retention of learners just like the textbooks they use that have pictures and well-colored illustrations on diagrams.

Virtual learning is increasingly becoming a reality in schools, as the closure of institutions of basic education is still ongoing. As a result, some reforms have been arranged in order to improve virtual learning in Kenya.

“The training of teachers will be offered at no cost. At first, it will be delivered online to a select group on a pilot basis before it is offered to teachers across the country,” said Dr. Joel Mabonga who is the senior deputy director of KICD.

In the last week, KICD the council appointed Prof Charles Ong’ondo as the new KICD director.

“We planned for all these but we had to fast track this process due to COVID-19,” said Dr. Mabonga.

Other issues that will be part of the digital content include the incorporation of crucial and emerging issues in the broadcast and digital programmes as well as developing and adopting digital content for learners who have special needs and disabilities.

The KUZA award to Edu TV Channel

“The Edu TV channel aims at sustaining an extensive menu of educational content and this has seen it awarded as the best in airing local content during the KUZA awards organized by the Communication Authority of Kenya,” added Dr. Mabonga.

It remains to be seen what competition the Edu TV channel triumphed over, as it is the only one specifically airing educational content in the country