The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has said it will apply for a digital broadcasting licence to broadcast a channel of educational content, which is said is neglected by most broadcasters.
KNUT secretary general Wilson Sossion, who paid a call to Ministry of ICT cabinet secretary Dr Fred Matiangi at his office at Teleposta Towers in Nairobi, said the union was waiting for the digital migration process to begin before applying.
Sossion said broadcasting was critical to learning in schools, especially for those students in remote areas and with few teachers.
“As soon as digital migration takes off, we will also ask for a channel that we can drive education content through as licensed stations, except KBC (Kenya Broadcasting Corporation) have continued to neglect this subject,” he said.
He said if ICT upgrading plans were to be implemented, the teachers union would have to partner with relevant ministries for training.
“Already all teachers who have left teacher training colleges since 2006 have been equipped with the right skills but we will also require more facilitation for the rest, especially with the ICT integration in schools, free Wi-Fi and other projects underway,” he said.
Matiangi urged KNUT to embrace e-learning and work with the government towards its implementation as it presented a huge platform for sharing and lowering the cost of education in addition to offering easy access and efficiency in delivery of education services.
“The future holds a lot for the education sector and personally I foresee a wall-less classroom where content can be accessed from everywhere whether from a matatu or from a farm somewhere in rural Kenya,” said Matiangi.
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