By: Lubnah
Abdulhalim
THE LEAP INTO TECHNOLOGICAL ERA
Laptops,
laptops, laptops!! It’s a brand new year again and for the children joining
class one, this is going to be the best year in their school lives maybe. I can
imagine how much they are anticipating this great action by the present
government. We will surely be seeing public schools being flooded with new
admissions into the school, after all, who doesn’t want a laptop?
It isn’t a
surprise why any child would like the idea to join school in this year; you
can’t blame them! Some never even had a touch of a pen and a book and maybe,
they saw how their parents struggled to buy for their older siblings, the
school stationeries. I bet even the older teenagers in the rural areas who have
always rejected school and opted for agriculture and being shepherds, would
want to join school this time. Maybe Kenya is really heading to the technological
era of learning whereby students will be taught ‘B is for Bluetooth’ and ‘L is
for Laptops’ instead of the ball and ladder we grew up hearing. Who knows? That
could be vision 2020 for Kenyans!
The irony of
this entire story is that while the government is planning on the laptop
project, there are students in Turkana who don’t even have a place to call a school.
They have their lessons under the trees, with no shelter to protect them from
severe sun rays, with no desks to sit on and not even books to write on. For
people like these, what effect do the laptops have on them? Is there any effect
expected when they are promised such things when they don’t even have
electricity? This sad story isn’t only in Turkana but in many other places in
Kenya.
Apart from that
is the fact that some of the teachers don’t even know how to operate the
laptops let alone the children. They will learn, some of us will say. It is
true; time is enough for everyone to learn new things but what of the
consistent problem of teachers not being paid their salaries? Some people may
agree with me that this is a more important issue to be dealt with rather than
the laptop project. Many are still debating whether this is the right project
to be done during this time in Kenya whereby problems are overwhelming.
For the class
one children and their parents of course, this is hurrah for them. It is
definitely a new year, with new resolutions and new goodies! I definitely wish
to join you in your joy or maybe, it isn’t all that a bad idea that I should
start class one again too. Now that I don’t have any sibling going to class
one, this could be a brilliant idea to get myself a laptop! Apart from all
that; to the beautiful children of Kenya, I say, congratulations for the coming
laptops!
