Kenya’s president, Uhuru Kenyatta, announced last Friday at the State House in Nairobi the inclusion of coding as a subject in primary and secondary school curricula. With this new breakthrough, Kenya becomes the first African country to recognize coding as a subject of study in the two early schools.
“I congratulate the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development for guiding our nation to this historic milestone by including coding as a crucial ability inside our new Competency Based Curriculum,” President Kenyatta stated at the occasion.
The President also unveiled the National Cybersecurity Strategy 2022, which calls for targeted interventions to solve Kenya’s national cybersecurity concerns. The Kenya National Digital Master Plan, which will last until 2032, was also introduced.
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With all these digital roll-outs, the president, whose tenure comes to an end in a few weeks, is optimistic about the impact the National Digital Master Plan would have on the country. He believes the plan will establish the country’s leadership in ICT by fostering the growth of ICT-related businesses and creating an enabling policy, legal and regulatory environment for the greater adoption of e-governance.
“This, no doubt, will enhance employment creation, enable and scale up ICT innovation and the development of a dynamic and robust ICT sector that will enhance the growth of all sectors of our economy. The master plan also guides investors while planning their investment priorities,” President Kenyatta said.
The goal of creating over 20,000 village digital hubs around the country under the digital master plan will allow the government to directly employ an extra 40,000 youth to operate the centers and teach interested citizens.
Kenya has maintained its position as one of the continent’s digital innovation centers. This new project represents a desire to redefine education as well as a strong commitment to building the future. And it appears that both the commercial and public sectors share this vision. Microsoft, Visa, and Google have all launched their first development centers in the country’s capital this year.
