The Kenya Private Schools Association (KPSA) and Absa Bank Kenya have penned a deal to help accelerate adoption of virtual learning across private primary and secondary institutions.
The initiative dubbed Masomo Iendelee, Linda Mwalimu seeks to ensure continuity of learning for students while boosting the financial position and sustainability of schools.
“The world is faced with one of the biggest crises of our time and as Kenyans, businesses and individuals alike, we can all play a role in minimizing the economic and social impact by partnering to quickly innovate around the challenges that we face. At Absa, we understand that many Kenyans are going through a tough time and we would like to continue working with KPSA to support their activities during and beyond these extraordinary times,” said Absa Bank Kenya Business Banking Director Elizabeth Wasunna.
The plan is to ensure that teachers continue to earn a living in the advent of the coronavirus pandemic.
The partnership also features EduVOD, a Microsoft-authorized educational system partner, who will support with the technical aspects of the initiative including digitization of content and assessments.
EduVOD provides an end to end solution, addressing the main challenges facing digitizing of schools in Africa.
As the financial partner, Absa will provide financing for schools to acquire the necessary software and hardware requirements in order to successfully roll out the virtual learning program.
The bank will also provide financing options for parents and teachers who need to purchase laptops or tablets to access the learning system.
Additionally, Absa will provide working capital financing options to schools.
The programme is available to over 8,000 primary and secondary schools across the country, including those offering international curriculum.
The Kenya Private Schools Association is the umbrella body of all private schools within the Republic of Kenya.
It plays a key role in complementing the Government’s efforts in the provision and expansion of access to quality education for all.
“To benefit from the Masomo Iendelee, Linda Mwalimu initiative, KPSA members and their students will need to self-register through the newly launched KPSA Digital Education Management Information System,” said Peter Ndoro, KPSA Chief Executive Officer.
“The KPSA Digital EMIS platform will also provide key data points to education stakeholders including the Ministry of Education, KICD, KNEC, TSC, KNUT, UNESCO and GPE among others to help in policy formulation. The KPSA EMIS portal is also integrated with Payments Gateway to manage KPSA revenue collections,” he added.
After registration, member schools will have the option to activate the EduVOD Virtual School with the added choice to open or manage multiple virtual campuses.
The teachers in registered schools will also undergo training to effectively run virtual classrooms.
Schools and teachers will need to be registered and activated on the KPSA platform and open the zero maintenance salary account at Absa to access the financing options.
Once registered, teachers can acquire laptops and other virtual learning equipment from select merchants using the Absa credit card and pay over 12 to 24 months.
For instance, to purchase a laptop worth Ksh.50 000, one can choose to pay Ksh. 2,796 monthly repayment over 24 months or Ksh.4, 875 over 12 months.
