Kenya Becomes First African Country To Introduce Coding As A Subject in Schools

The Government of Kenya officially launched the Coding and Computer Programming Curriculum to be used in Public Schools around two months after it had been approved by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD).

The new content will be implemented across the country in primary and secondary schools under the Kenya National Digital Master plan 2022-2032. It will be applied in conjunction with the Ministry of Education and the ICT Authority through the Digital Literacy Programme (DLP).

The Cabinet Secretary Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs, Mr Joe Mucheru has hailed the new coding syllabus as a game changer by enabling our schools to produce future computer coding experts.

“This is a great day for the country especially for our children who will now have the opportunity to learn coding and computer programming at an early age. The world is changing and everyone is going digital and Kenya will not be left behind as the globe goes digital,” he said.

He added that the implementation of the Digital Literacy Programme that’s ongoing in public schools will be enhanced further with the new coding syllabus.

Countries like Zimbabwe can learn a lot from this exciting development in Kenya. The world has developed into a digital economy and pupils with digital skills like coding can really stand out and perform well in the marketplace.

Introducing coding to students at a young age will give them a head start over students who will only start learning such concepts at A' Level level or even in university as is the case with a lot of students in Zimbabwe.

Students with coding skills can develop innovative solutions to the problems facing Zimbabwe. The IT field is also more open with a lot of vacancies coming up. This is different from some of the popular degrees like Sociology, Psychology, Development Studies and Political Science. These fields churn out thousands of graduates per year who are not able to find jobs that fit their education.

The introduction of coding in public schools in Zimbabwe would also help get more girls into the IT field. Currently, a very small percentage of girls and women are in IT and this anomaly needs to be addressed. This is a global problem and some institutions have provided scholarships to females in the IT sector to boost their numbers.

United Nations Commission For Africa (ECA) has also announced a free coding camp for young women and girls aged 12-25 in Africa. Get more details and apply here.

There are also organisations like The Baobab Tree Trust which sources computers in Europe and donates them to underprivileged schools in Zimbabwe.