And for the starving families...the laptop will be sold on the first day it is issued!

Laptops vs. Computer Labs

Congratulations to our brand new president Kenyatta and deputy president Ruto. This is in response to their call to us to support them in taking Kenya forward. My contribution is in the form of ideas.
I wish to contribute to the debate on the promise made of issuing laptops to all children joining standard one in public schools in 2014. This is a noble idea but I believe that we should look at other alternatives that may more effectively meet the objective of introducing Kenyan children to IT at an early age.
My concern is that a laptop will not last very long in the hands of a six year old child. It is likely to be treated like a toy, exposed to rain and dust not to mention that the whole family will want to use it as well. Expect inter-sibling fights over use of the laptop with the young laptop owner likely coming out the loser.
Then there is the issue of insecurity. I fear that a young child walking around with a laptop is an easy target for thugs who are unfortunately all too common in Kenya nowadays.
We also have to contend with the rest of the children in classes 2 to 8 feeling left out. We must look at this from the eyes of a child. All they will see is that the young ones are being favoured. There will be pressure on struggling parents to buy laptops for all their children yet they can hardly afford to feed them well.
In light of these concerns, I propose that instead of issuing laptops to the class one pupils only, it may be more effective and cheaper in the long run to establish computer labs in each public primary school. The computer labs can be equipped with desktop computers for a standard class of say 40 pupils. A new IT lesson should then be introduced in the school curriculum so that all classes get at least a one hour lesson per week. This can then culminate in an IT competency certification process along the lines of the internationally recognized ICDL. This approach will also lead to job creation for the youth because IT instructors will be required in public schools.
On keeping the costs of this project low and guaranteeing the procurement of high quality equipment, procurement laws should be amended to ensure that the government procures goods directly from manufactures only instead of the current use of agents and middlemen. Computer labs can also have a standard design and size so that the cost of building them is kept under control and made comparable across the country. In fact, I would expect that CDF money can be used to build the computer labs and install solar panels in areas without electricity. In any case, KPLC should at the very least supply electricity to all shopping centres, health centres and schools across the whole country.

Sometimes a good leader must recognise when they have erred and reverse their decisions even if it will cost them an arm and a leg.

Given the state of our educational system, its simply a great idea at the wrong time.

Lets not use the state of urban schools to extrapolate to the village schools...their priorities are a million miles apart.

And for the starving families...the laptop will be sold on the first day it is issued!