Over 250,000 learners access digital learning as County Governments Implement the EIDU Program

Ten counties in Kenya currently have the EIDU digital learning program benefitting 250,000 learners and 10,000 teachers.

EIDU is working with governments to provide cost-effective and scalable digital learning solutions in schools, aiming to support both national and county governments to expand their reach to all primary and Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) learners across the country. 

The EIDU digital learning program has, so far, been implemented in Bungoma, Embu, Kiambu, Kisumu, Machakos, Makueni, Mombasa, Murang’a, Nairobi and Nakuru. Surveys across  four counties show a 98% parental approval and teacher approval of 96% for the program, with improved math and language skills cited as key benefits to learners.   

The EIDU digital learning program works by providing students and teachers with educational content that aligns with the government’s competency-based curriculum (CBC) through learning devices. The collected data is used to individualize the learning activities as per the different needs of students.

Engagement and performance data is presented on a dashboard that government officials can use to evaluate the performance of the digital learning program and make informed decisions based on key education metrics.

“The EIDU program has had great traction in Kenya and we aim to support the national and county governments in expanding its reach to all learners across the country,” said EIDU’s Managing Director, Dr. Max Dohna, during a media roundtable held today in Nairobi.

Kenya has been implementing a digital literacy program targeting primary school children since 2013, and this has seen over 1.2 million mobile devices distributed to schools across the country.  

EIDU aims to support national and county governments to achieve their education goals and implement policy around digital learning. EIDU’s devices are equipped with learning content that adapts to each learner’s pace. 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 CBC, and is approved by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD). 

For a smooth integration of the EIDU program in schools, the county governments, with EIDU’s support, conduct teacher training and leverage digital data monitoring and evaluation tools. 

“We came into collaboration with EIDU in 2022 to introduce a digital learning program in all public ECDE centers in Embu County.  The forum came in to help us with digital assurance, in terms of assessing the learning outcomes of the children in our 399 ECDE centers. This is in addition to supporting the tracking of assessments through daily progress records for both transition purposes and policy making,” said Embu County ECDE Director, Jeremiah Ireri.

Meanwhile, EIDU has, together with various development partners including, among others, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the German Embassy in Kenya, Save the Children, Google and Jacobs Foundation, mobilized KES2bn funding in support of the digital learning program in Kenya. EIDU seeks to produce the best learning outcomes globally and support all learners equally, regardless of whether they live in urban or rural areas.