Sh29 billion used to light up primary schools

Of the 22,587 primary schools, 18,208 were connected to the national grid while 4,379 were put under solar energy.

Energy Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter (left), his Permanent Secretary Joseph Njoroge (right) and ICT CS Joe Mucheru during laptops project briefing at the ICT offices in Nairobi, on February 15, 2016. PHOTO | LILIAN OCHIENG | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

In Summary

• The ministry put the total number of primary schools in Kenya to 23,082 and the list is growing due to “deliberate establishment purposely to get electricity.”
• The ministry said REA has continued to identify additional schools through various means and the total number is now 23,082, an increase of close to 2,000 from the original target.
• Jubilee administration promised to deliver one laptop per Class One student in the run up to the 2013 General Elections.

The government has spent Sh29 billion to connect 22,587 primary schools to electricity in preparation for full rollout of the digital literacy programme.

Data from the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum that was tabled in the National Assembly shows that work is in progress to link up the remaining learning institutions.

Of the 22,587 primary schools, 18,208 were connected to the national grid while 4,379 were put under solar energy.

The ministry put the total number of primary schools in Kenya to 23,082 and the list is growing due to “deliberate establishment purposely to get electricity.”

“Initial data obtained from the Ministry of Education around May/June 2013 indicated a total of 19,000 public schools. This was updated by the Rural Electrification Authority (REA) to 21,222 and this was at the beginning of the project in July 2013,” the document to MPs said.

The ministry said REA has continued to identify additional schools through various means and the total number is now 23,082, an increase of close to 2,000 from the original target.

“In some areas new schools are deliberately being established purposely to get electricity,” the ministry said in a status report on key projects undertaken in the current financial year.

The government ordered the ministry to ensure that all schools are connected to electric power before the rollout of laptops for Class One.

The Treasury has allocated the ICT ministry Sh13.4 billion for deployment of the laptops to schools, development of digital contents, building capacity of teachers and rolling out computer laboratory for primary schools throughout the country in the financial year starting July.

The Jubilee administration promised to deliver one laptop per Class One student in the run up to the 2013 General Elections.

The project has, however, been delayed due to procurement headwinds which saw an earlier Sh24 billion tender cancelled.