Airtel Kenya is intensifying its commitment to digital education by making access to the Kenya Education Cloud and Elimika platforms free of charge (zero-rated). This initiative ensures that teachers can access essential professional development tools and curriculum-aligned content at no data cost.
This move, in collaboration with the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) and the Ministry of Education, is a key component of the wider Airtel Africa-UNICEF partnership, which focuses on ‘Accessible learning content.’
Airtel Africa’s $57 million partnership with UNICEF aims to revolutionize classrooms across the continent by accelerating digital learning access. In Kenya, the program currently supports 141 public primary schools, providing each with 300 GB of monthly data. This data leverages existing government issued tablets to enhance lessons and engage students.
The need for this intervention is critical:
- Only about 10.7% of Kenyan households own a computer, and just 23.8% have reliable internet access, with rural communities facing the largest shortfall.
- Fewer than half of secondary schools have operational computer labs, and less than half of those are connected to the internet.
- Many teachers still lack the necessary digital tools and training to fully support a technology-driven curriculum.
The Kenya Education Cloud provides a wide range of learning resources, including video illustrations, recorded lessons, and audio classes for learners from pre-primary up to Grade 9. As the Competency Based Education (CBE) system takes shape, this cloud platform is central to delivering the new curriculum.
For schools, the guaranteed monthly data means consistent access to video lessons and online assignments. For teachers, free access to Elimika facilitates professional development and the integration of new teaching methods.