he Nakuru County Assembly has announced a KSh10 million commitment to support the continuation of the EIDU digital learning program across all Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) centres within the county. The commitment applies to the financial year 2024/25.
EIDU is a social business that partners with national and county governments to achieve their education goals and implement policy around digital learning. It does this by digitising the education system with digital teaching and learning tools in the classroom and digital management and real time monitoring tools for the County. Schools receive devices equipped with learning content that adapts to each learner’s pace and digital lesson plans for teachers. The content is sourced from the world’s best educational material providers, with EIDU ensuring that it aligns with the requirements of the Kenyan government’s Competency Based Curriculum (CBC), and is approved by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD).
“We have made the observation that the entire program is moving on smoothly; and we have had a candid discussion with members and we have unanimously agreed that we will make available the resources that are needed by the [education] department to support EIDU. So, we are ready to commit KSh10 million to support this program,” said Hon. Peter Maina Njoroge, the chair of the education committee in the Nakuru County Assembly and Member of County Assembly (MCA) of the Murindat ward.
In Nakuru, the program has been under implementation since September 2023, leading to key outcomes in digital learning for over 45,000 learners across 1,000 ECDE centers. At the Naivasha Milimani School, for example, teachers report key efficiencies in the planning and implementation of their lesson plans, in addition to a heightened interest in digital learning by students.
“EIDU digital learning has been instrumental in increasing the eagerness of children to learn. Many children are benefitting from the program, which has reinforced their engagement in class and accelerated their digital learning knowledge,” said Ms. Bibian Muthoni, an ECDE teacher at the Milimani Primary School in Naivasha.
Nakuru is one of 10 counties in Kenya that have implemented the EIDU digital learning program, which is now benefitting 250,000 learners and 10,000 teachers across the country, with an approval rate of 98% among parents and 96% among teachers. For a smooth integration, county governments, with EIDU’s support, conduct teacher training and leverage digital data monitoring and evaluation tools. Research shows that students under the EIDU program gain 9 months of additional learning on top of a regular school year.
County government officials also gain access to insights into the progress of learners and teachers in their schools through the special EIDU dashboard that displays key performance metrics.
During a visit to three schools last week, members of the Nakuru County Assembly’s education and budget committees, together with other county leaders witnessed first-hand the engagement of students and teachers with the EIDU program. Hon. Dr. Alex Mbugua, the MCA of Lakeview Ward, where Milimani School is located, expressed his excitement with the program, which he noted would accelerate the achievement of the county’s digital educational goals.
“The students are so captivated to work with the digital machines. This [EIDU digital learning program] is one thing that should be embraced within the county and within the country, ” he said.
