By Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD (Leading Environmental Law Scholar, Policy Advisor, Natural Resources Lawyer and Dispute Resolution Expert from Kenya), Winner of Kenya’s ADR Practitioner of the Year 2021, ADR Publisher of the Year 2021 and CIArb (Kenya) Lifetime Achievement Award 2021*
The advances in technology driven by globalization and digital transformation have impacted education sector and how teachers interact with students and how knowledge and skills are acquired and applied. In that way, technology has become an important component of education. In fact, the need for use of technology in education has become pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic as online education increasingly became the norm and vital part of teaching and learning for many teachers and students. As such, technology has great potential to help deal the some if not most of the challenges facing the education sector in the country relate to affordability, availability, and accessibility.
Some of these challenges may be solved by integrating information technology in the education system delivery mode. As technological advancements take root across the world, teaching and learning are moving towards the adoption of certain types of digital learning concepts, where new methods of learning will replace traditional individual classroom learning. Recent studies conducted in developed countries on the impact of technology in learning, focusing on remedial and low-achieving students, have shown gains of 80 percent for reading and 90 percent for math when computers were used to assist in the learning process; multimedia instruction models, aided by digital learning, found to save more time by up to 30 percent compared with conventional teaching methods such as board and chalk; and technology also improved achievement and cost savings of 30 to 40 percent, and had a direct positive link between the amount of interactivity provided and instructional effectiveness.
Students using technology as an education tool become more engaged in the process and more interested in growing their knowledge base. Interactive solutions also boost retention rates and test scores, being far more engaging and memorable than voluminous textbooks; provide better context, a greater sense of perspective, and more arresting activities that allow them to better connect with students, and also frequently offer a more interesting and involving way to assimilate information. Digital learning has thus been found to offer an unprecedented ability to provide educational experiences that are tailor-made for each student.
According to reports by the UNDP, school closures have affected over 90 percent of the world’s student population — 1 .6 billion children and youth. As a result, accounting for the inability to access the internet for remote learning, this could result in out-of-school rates in primary education not seen since the mid-1980s, setbacks that are especially worrisome as they can translate into life-long deficits, perpetuating inequalities across generations. Remote access to education by students has never been more needed than during the COVID-19 pandemic period. It is estimated that during the COVID-19 pandemic, many schools are offering remote learning to students through virtual classrooms to mitigate the impact of school closures. However, while this is an option for some, it is out of reach for many who lack access to computers and the Internet at home, as well as a low level of computer-related skills, all of which put many already marginalized students at a further disadvantage.
It is therefore imperative that the government salvages the situation and avoid more children being affected through continuous investment in and full implementation of the government’s Digital Literacy Programme which will see more children especially from the marginalized and far-flung areas in the country. The programme which was started by the government in 2013 aims at ensuring pupils in standard one to three can use digital technology and communication tools in learning with an overarching objective of transforming learning in Kenya into a 21st Century education system.
Considering that the tablets and other gadgets meant for the Programme are being assembled locally by the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and Moi University, there is a need for these universities and other institutions of higher learning to be supported through funding and political goodwill as well as through cooperation with international organizations and initiatives such as Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI) to make these initiatives more successful. Notably, The Digital Literacy Programme “Digischool” is also considered as a key deliverable under the Kenya Vision 2030. The adoption of robust curricula that provides for quality education and training is the key to the transformation of the country through technological innovation and the shift from knowledge reproduction to knowledge production which will eventually empower learners and communities as part of sustainable development.
There is a higher need than ever before for the Government to concentrate more on investment in education and training technology as part of its efforts towards the realization of sustainable development agenda and the country’s development blueprint, Vision 2030. If the right to quality and inclusive education for individual and community empowerment is to be realized, then there is a need for strong national legal and policy frameworks that lay the foundation and conditions for the delivery and sustainability of good quality education. Education holds great potential in addressing most of the problems that slow down the realization of sustainable development goals and eventual empowerment of individuals, such as poverty, injustice, inclusivity, environmental degradation, among others. Inclusive and quality education is indeed a tool for empowerment for the present and future generations.
*This article is an extract from the Article: “Towards Inclusive and Quality Education as a Tool for Empowerment in Kenya,” (2021) Journal of Conflict Management and Sustainable Development Volume 6(1), p. 83 by Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD, Kenya’s ADR Practitioner of the Year 2021 (Nairobi Legal Awards), ADR Publisher of the Year 2021 and ADR Lifetime Achievement Award 2021 (CIArb Kenya). Dr. Kariuki Muigua is a foremost Environmental Law and Natural Resources Lawyer and Scholar, Sustainable Development Advocate and Conflict Management Expert in Kenya. Dr. Kariuki Muigua is a Senior Lecturer of Environmental Law and Dispute resolution at the University of Nairobi School of Law and The Center for Advanced Studies in Environmental Law and Policy (CASELAP). He has published numerous books and articles on Environmental Law, Environmental Justice Conflict Management, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Sustainable Development. Dr. Muigua is also a Chartered Arbitrator, an Accredited Mediator, the Africa Trustee of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Managing Partner of Kariuki Muigua & Co. Advocates. Dr. Muigua is recognized among the top 5 leading lawyers and dispute resolution experts in Kenya by the Chambers Global Guide 2022.
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