Who are you trying to help? What issue are you trying to address?

The youth in developing countries have a wind of opportunities through engaging in certificate programs offered in medium level learning institutions within the country, mainly Youth Polytechnics. Computers for Schools Kenya is a charitable organization that has over the last six and half years advanced the integration of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) in education and training and community development through establishment of multi-stakeholder partnerships. This is a request for the establishment of such a partnership for the purpose of establishing model ICT integrated Youth Polytechnics in each of the nation’s 47 counties.

Since their establishment in the 1960s, Youth Polytechnics have been primarily viewed as an alternative to Secondary School and more advanced formal education. They were envisioned to train local rural youth who, for various reasons, could not proceed on to secondary education – equipping them with artisan and business skills that would enable them to be self-employed within the local economy. They were essentially intended to offer a structured apprenticeship, imparting hands-on skills amidst actual output of products into the immediate economy – proceeds of which would then sustain their operations. As a secondary benefit, they would then also offer the trainee artisans opportunity to acquire qualifications beyond their basic academic certificates.

What is your project and how will it help?

However, over time, these institutions came to be seen as an unattractive option of last resort to accommodate those that had “failed” and had no other options. Lack of resources, poor governance, limited innovation, tenuous linkages to the world of work and severely limited staff capacity combined with this negative attitude to further condemn the Youth Polytechnics to obscurity. They were gradually degraded into a cheap imitation of the formal education system – with their staff and trainees focused more on acquisition of paper certificates and obtaining wage employment, rather than acquiring skills and going into self-employment in small and micro-enterprises.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, specifically its Department of Youth Training, has since its establishment endeavoured to recapture and actualize the original vision for the Youth Polytechnics in the broader context of employment and wealth creation in the short and medium term and Vision 2030 in the longer term.

This three-year project proposes to mainstream ICTs in the core operations of the selected Youth Polytechnics in 6 ways:

1. Provision of appropriate ICT equipment
2. Provision of training to staff at the YPs to broaden their skills and knowledge and potential for continuing education
3. Provision of a remotely accessible shared e Learning/e Content Management Platform to enhance the quality of training at the YPs
4. Provision of Internet Access for both teaching purposes and Digital Village operations
5. Establishment of the YPs as Digital Villages serving the local small and micro-enterprises
6. Establishment of additional revenue generation opportunities for the YPs through the creative use and deployment of their ICT facilities.

How can other people partner with you on your project?

People can partner with this project through generous donation of ICT equipment that will enable set up of the learning institutions.

Through giving in monetary terms so as to have the capability to set up and train the youth and equipping them with ICT skills which will also open up Africa to the world and create sustainable capacity building initiatives.

Please detail the resources that you need.

Sensitisation seminar KES 324,000.00
Computer Laboratories Renovation of a secure room with clean power, dust control and heat control (KES 250,000X90 YP’s) KES 22,500,000.00
Computers Quality refurbished branded P4 computers(Each @14,000X900) KES 12,600,000.00
Peripheral Equipment(Printers and scanners)25,000.00X90 KES 2,250,000.00
Shipping of e-waste especially monitors to partners overseas KES 1,600,000.00
Networking Internet-ready LAN (modules, cabling, switches, trunking, short cables, labour) (85,000.00X90YP’s) KES 7,650,000.00
Technical Support & Maintenance Preventive and curative maintenance, including parts & labour (3,000.00X900 Computers) KES 2,700,000.00
Internet Access Last-mile infrastructure and access fees
(100,000.00X90 YP’s) KES 9,000,000.00
Training for YP Managers 5 Stage training over one year
(60,000.00X90 YP’s) KES 5,400,000.00
Training for YP ICT Instructors 6 Stage training over one year
72,000.00X90’YP’s KES 6,480,000.00
eLearning Platform Development Remotely accessible shared platform 750,000.00 KES 1 750,000.00
eLearning Platform Hosting For the first year of the project (calculated per month) (30,000.00X12) KES 360,000.00
Total KES 76,614,000.00
Administrative costs and Public relations 
Project administration and public relation costs KES 3,650,700.00

Grand total KES 80,264,700.00
KES 1,000,000 = USD 12,000