Safaricom, through the M-PESA Foundation, has launched an education initiative to improve education and training outcomes over the next five years. Dubbed Citizens of the Future, the program seeks to upgrade infrastructure, enhance teacher skilling in ICT across over 600 institutions nationwide, and award scholarships to over 10,000 students in senior secondary and tertiary institutions over the next five years.
“We have developed education interventions that seek to bridge the gap through innovation and material support. Under the Citizens of the Future Program, we are consolidating our initiatives to ease access to education from early learning to technical and vocational training in an initial investment of about KES30 billion in the next five years,” said Peter Ndegwa, Chief Executive Officer, Safaricom.
The programme will involve the development of model institutions reflective of “Schools of the Future” that will signify future learning, with modern infrastructure that is built sustainably, integrated with technology and with an emphasis on inclusivity for learners with special needs.
In the financial year 2023/24 the education sector received an allocation of KES628.6 billion, accounting for 20.7% of national revenue and 4.7% of the country’s GDP, positioning Kenya well above the UNESCO minimum threshold of 4%, but below the recommended share of 15-20% of total public expenditure.
Even with decades of investment and reforms, Kenya’s education system still faces challenges, from inadequate capitation to a lack of teaching materials, hampering the improvement of learning spaces and corresponding infrastructure that support requisite skilling to match human-capital requirements of the digital age.
To enhance this, the government looks to the private sector for synergies in resourcing, technical support and capacity strengthening, to help prepare learners for a competitive market.
“We are witness to what quality education can do for communities and therefore owe our learners and teachers an enhanced experience. In a world that is increasingly driven by digital advancements, the traditional classroom setting is evolving into something far more dynamic. We are going beyond supplementing education to transforming it,” said Nicholas Nganga, Chairman, M-PESA Foundation.
The adoption of technology in education will not only enrich the educational landscape, but also enable learners and teachers navigate a world that demands adaptability, aligning to the shifting needs of the new socio-economic order.
“This does indeed come at a defining moment, as we are celebrating 25 years of Safaricom, a journey anchored on our enduring purpose to transform lives. Our objective under Citizens of the Future is to enable every region have a model institution that not only trains for academic excellence, but to mould future-ready learners through digital integration,” said Michael Joseph, Trustee, M-PESA Foundation.
Kenyans will have a month to nominate a learning institution of their choice through https://www.citizenofthefuture.org/ with deserving schools shortlisted from the set criteria to award beneficiaries.
As Safaricom marks 25 years of operation, it illuminates the critical need for a more inclusive education system in an increasingly competitive world, adding on to investment of over KES 29 billion by the foundations, impacting more than 4 million learners in Kenya.
