Guess what? Kenya’s breaking records and making waves in the world of tech education. UNESCO just gave a big thumbs up to Kenya for being the first country in Africa to introduce coding classes in both primary and secondary schools. Cool, right?

UNESCO dropped a new report this Wednesday, called ‘Technology in Education: A Tool on Whose Terms?’. In simple terms, it’s all about how schools worldwide are using technology. And guess who’s getting a special mention? Yep, Kenya! Here’s what they had to say:

“Kenya has become the first African country to incorporate coding as a subject in primary and secondary schools under the new competency-based curriculum. The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development has approved a coding skills curriculum developed by Kodris Africa, a for-profit company, for children aged 7 to 16 in the Python programming language that focuses on algorithms, debugging and logical operators (Kodris, 2023),”

A global survey shows that in high-income and upper-middle-income countries, students typically will take Computer Science in primary or secondary school. In contrast, students in lower-middle and low-income countries don’t often have this opportunity.

The report, unveiled as part of the #TechOnOurTerms campaign, highlights the concerning low digital skills worldwide. With the digital landscape growing more complex, it’s crucial for countries to clearly identify what constitutes “digital skills” and strategize how to enhance them among their people.

Additionally, ramping up digital skills starting from primary all the way to tertiary education is essential. It paves the way for wider technology use and sets the stage for a booming digital economy.

The 2Economic Survey 2021 report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) has some more good news. Despite the whole pandemic situation, Kenya’s tech industry has been booming. It’s now one of the country’s top money-makers!

Kodris Africa, the champs behind the coding curriculum, have gotten the green light from the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD). And guess what? It’s not just for Kenyan kids. This coding program is recognized globally, even by Pearson, a big name in education.

Kenya’s President William Ruto was all praises at a recent tech event in Nairobi. He’s all for teaching kids tech skills from a young age. According to him, it’s the way to prep them for future jobs.

Oh, and Safaricom’s top boss, Peter Ndegwa, spilled some beans too. They’re teaming up with Kodris Africa to supercharge digital learning. With over 52,000 techies working in their M-Pesa platform, they’re all about creating more tech jobs.

To wrap up, Kodris Africa believes coding isn’t just a skill; it’s a superpower. And the sooner kids start, the better they’ll be at solving problems in the future. So, hats off to Kenya for leading the way!

Article based on: https://nation.africa/kenya/news/education/unesco-recognises-kenya-as-first-country-in-africa-to-accredit-coding-lessons-4317910