Kenya’s largest mobile service provider – Safaricom has donated more than Ksh 500,000 worth of airtime to Kibondeni students in an effort to support them access e-learning lessons from the institution. Through the Safaricom foundation, 350 students are set to receive airtime over a period of three months with additional 100 students expected to get scholarships from January 2021.
Learning institution in the country have since shut down following a government’s directive to help curb the spread of the pandemic. While students from elite schools with able guardians are able to access resources needed to enable e-learning activities, most parts of the country still can’t afford required facilities and resources such as stable internet, electricity and radios.
Safaricom foundation’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Programme which is a collaboration between the telco, Zizi Afrique Foundation and ToolKit iSkills resorted to online learning in a bid to enable learners continue studying even as institutions remain shut.
Speaking on the matter, Safaricom foundation trustee Steve Chege said its part of commitment to TVET was to put in place sustainable infrastructure for youth training, and had an opportunity to use technology in enabling students continue with their training. Chege further said supporting the students with airtime would ensure they have access to learning material suited to their areas of study through online platforms.
Safaricom Foundation’s TVET programme is also set to unveil an ICT enabled Skills Center in Nairobi’s Waithaka Vocational Training Centre with an estimated 1,000 students receiving TVET scholarships over the next two years in various institutions.
Kibondeni College Principal Lynda Kasina noted that most students in the institution come from low income backgrounds, and the donation by the Safaricom Foundation will enable them to continue with their studies remotely. Lynda also added they were part of TVET programme seeking to accord 100 scholarships to students from Nairobi and Kilifi.