Kenya: Project to connect schools

Highway Africa News Agency

Kenya Data Networks (KDN)- a leading ICT infrastructure provider in the country has embarked on an ambitious program to provide all Kenya's schools from distant mountain villages to those in the swelling urban slum areas, with Internet connectivity.

The objective of the project is to enable e-learning in schools and to further look for ways of making it a self-sustaining business for the institutions. KDN's managing director, Kai Wulff announced that the company has already connected various schools in slum areas, among them Altaawon in Korogocho, Orphans Sans Frontieres in Kangemi and Mukuru in Mukuru Kwa Njega, all siuated in Nairobi's slums, and several others in different parts of the country.

"We want to assist schools to leapfrog the digital divide through the provision of affordable and reliable Internet connections. In the next few years, we want every school in Kenya to be hooked up to the Internet and not just through a crummy dial up service but at high speed broadband carried by fibre optic cables", Wulff stated.

Wulff said KDN wants to contribute to the development of a successful digital knowledge transfer system using an educated pool of talent that would see the benefits trickle down to neighbouring communities.

He added that schools were fertile grounds to foster the development of a new generation of innovative citizens who have the skills to play their rightful role in the knowledge-based society.

"We want to replicate the success registered in the schools that we have so far connected elsewhere in the country. The idea is that by connecting these institutions, we have a business case where they shall act as e-learning resource centers to the surrounding communities and if well run, the project will be sustainable", he added.

KDN dominates the field of data carriers that install infrastructure network to allow connection between end users and service providers.

Meanwhile, Kenya's Kamiti Secondary School has become the first institution in the country to benefit from Intel's 'World Ahead Programme' (WAP). WAP's aim is to develop low cost PCs for first time computer users and extend WiMAX technologies and to train 10 million teachers on the effectiveness of technologies in education.