Listers, The Government will spend 1.3B to buy 300 computers in each of the 210 constituencies. That means that each of the 63,000 computers will cost the taxpayer KSh 20,634/=. This is a very good initiative. Now, they say that these computers will be assembled by institutions. I just hope this does not mean they will go for clones. They would do much better with branded, refurbished computers. As far as I know, the minister did not mention anything touching on used computers in the budget. Now then, at this price, there is absolutely no allowance for software purchases. Which is all well as these computers can be loaded with open source software that will give much more value to the investment anyway. So we will be watching keenly to see what kind of deals Microsoft will try to push at the government to include their software in these computers, probably at a ¨small price¨. The open source community is available and willing to advise the Government on the best way of ensuring that tax payer money is used prudently for the benefit of this country. Ikua LPA-Kenya
The plan (purchasing of) for computers for schools, if implemented, seems more sustainable than the last year's budget for mobile ICT buses for constituencies. What the constituency leaders should now work for is to ensure the allocation of resources from the CDF to build computer labs in schools where they may be lacking. Many emerging schools may still be lacking computer labs and science labs as of now. One such school where I am the chairman of BGO (Obambo, Siaya) is yet to have a computer lab in place, and has no equipped science lab, but is it one of the best in the district (both in academic performance and sports). Regards Vitalis ________________________________ From: "ikua@lpakenya.org" <ikua@lpakenya.org> To: volunga@yahoo.com Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Fri, June 11, 2010 9:20:18 AM Subject: [kictanet] the budget and ICT Listers, The Government will spend 1.3B to buy 300 computers in each of the 210 constituencies. That means that each of the 63,000 computers will cost the taxpayer KSh 20,634/=. This is a very good initiative. Now, they say that these computers will be assembled by institutions. I just hope this does not mean they will go for clones. They would do much better with branded, refurbished computers. As far as I know, the minister did not mention anything touching on used computers in the budget. Now then, at this price, there is absolutely no allowance for software purchases. Which is all well as these computers can be loaded with open source software that will give much more value to the investment anyway. So we will be watching keenly to see what kind of deals Microsoft will try to push at the government to include their software in these computers, probably at a ¨small price¨. The open source community is available and willing to advise the Government on the best way of ensuring that tax payer money is used prudently for the benefit of this country. Ikua LPA-Kenya _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: volunga@yahoo.com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/volunga%40yahoo.com
It is safe I suppose to assume that not all targeted schools have a reliable (if any) source of electricity. Is there a plan for this? -- Josiah Mugambi On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 11:35 AM, Vitalis Olunga <volunga@yahoo.com> wrote:
The plan (purchasing of) for computers for schools, if implemented, seems more sustainable than the last year's budget for mobile ICT buses for constituencies. What the constituency leaders should now work for is to ensure the allocation of resources from the CDF to build computer labs in schools where they may be lacking. Many emerging schools may still be lacking computer labs and science labs as of now. One such school where I am the chairman of BGO (Obambo, Siaya) is yet to have a computer lab in place, and has no equipped science lab, but is it one of the best in the district (both in academic performance and sports). Regards
Vitalis
------------------------------ *From:* "ikua@lpakenya.org" <ikua@lpakenya.org> *To:* volunga@yahoo.com *Cc:* KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> *Sent:* Fri, June 11, 2010 9:20:18 AM *Subject:* [kictanet] the budget and ICT
Listers, The Government will spend 1.3B to buy 300 computers in each of the 210 constituencies. That means that each of the 63,000 computers will cost the taxpayer KSh 20,634/=. This is a very good initiative.
Now, they say that these computers will be assembled by institutions. I just hope this does not mean they will go for clones. They would do much better with branded, refurbished computers. As far as I know, the minister did not mention anything touching on used computers in the budget.
Now then, at this price, there is absolutely no allowance for software purchases. Which is all well as these computers can be loaded with open source software that will give much more value to the investment anyway. So we will be watching keenly to see what kind of deals Microsoft will try to push at the government to include their software in these computers, probably at a ¨small price¨.
The open source community is available and willing to advise the Government on the best way of ensuring that tax payer money is used prudently for the benefit of this country.
Ikua LPA-Kenya
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Back in March 2010, the Kenyan government had announced a proposed ban on second-hand computers, aimed at avoiding dumping and reducing electronic waste in the country. Well I've not heard that the ban is being enforced, or lifted, but I am a buyer of second hand branded computers and I have established that they are indeed more stable and reliable than "new" assembled klones. I would advocate that the sale of second hand Dells and HPs and Compaqs etc be allowed to continue, in fact be encouraged over assembly of klones, because some of those computers have a minimum of 256 MB RAM + 2.something processors and this is clearly adequate to run most open source applications. What does a new user of computers need anyway - just OS proficiency + word processing + spreadsheet. They can then move to faster computers as their proficiency increases. :) -- Ngũgĩ Kĩmani Fundi wa Mitambo On 11 June 2010 11:58, Josiah Mugambi <jmugambi@gmail.com> wrote:
It is safe I suppose to assume that not all targeted schools have a reliable (if any) source of electricity. Is there a plan for this?
-- Josiah Mugambi
On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 11:35 AM, Vitalis Olunga <volunga@yahoo.com>wrote:
The plan (purchasing of) for computers for schools, if implemented, seems more sustainable than the last year's budget for mobile ICT buses for constituencies. What the constituency leaders should now work for is to ensure the allocation of resources from the CDF to build computer labs in schools where they may be lacking. Many emerging schools may still be lacking computer labs and science labs as of now. One such school where I am the chairman of BGO (Obambo, Siaya) is yet to have a computer lab in place, and has no equipped science lab, but is it one of the best in the district (both in academic performance and sports). Regards
Vitalis
------------------------------ *From:* "ikua@lpakenya.org" <ikua@lpakenya.org> *To:* volunga@yahoo.com *Cc:* KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> *Sent:* Fri, June 11, 2010 9:20:18 AM *Subject:* [kictanet] the budget and ICT
Listers, The Government will spend 1.3B to buy 300 computers in each of the 210 constituencies. That means that each of the 63,000 computers will cost the taxpayer KSh 20,634/=. This is a very good initiative.
Now, they say that these computers will be assembled by institutions. I just hope this does not mean they will go for clones. They would do much better with branded, refurbished computers. As far as I know, the minister did not mention anything touching on used computers in the budget.
Now then, at this price, there is absolutely no allowance for software purchases. Which is all well as these computers can be loaded with open source software that will give much more value to the investment anyway. So we will be watching keenly to see what kind of deals Microsoft will try to push at the government to include their software in these computers, probably at a ¨small price¨.
The open source community is available and willing to advise the Government on the best way of ensuring that tax payer money is used prudently for the benefit of this country.
Ikua LPA-Kenya
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Interesting discussion going on , i am abit pessimistic though about the success of this new initiative, my greatest concern is whether the move is well informed or that there is a potential of it turning into a White elephant of sorts. We have had many initiatives aimed at ensuring ICT tools are available and accessible to all, however there has been very little feedback or research on how this initiatives have faired on or their real impact on the community. That said i am asking myself whether it is better to teach a man how to fish or whether we should keep buying fish for them. To elaborate if we focus on capacity building we will enable the people to see the need for buying computers whether refurbished or not, when they buy the computers they will expect to get value for money (aka roi) and as such we are likely to see more innovative communities proping up from all corners of the country, it is for this reason that i feel this move is ill advised and something needs to be done before the money goes down the drain, computers are not an end in themselves they are just a means to an end, the notion that they are an end must be done away with. Well i suppose it is time the communication commision or any other relevant body conducted a study on the impact of previous initiatives similar to the one being implemented i suppose it is our right as citizens of this great republic to be informed. I fully support the other issues raised by fellow listers, i would also like to know where we are with the e-mado project and where it fits in this arrangement. I would like to hear from stakeholders their take on this matter On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 11:36 AM, Ngũgĩ Kĩmani <ngugi@mafundi.co.ke> wrote:
Back in March 2010, the Kenyan government had announced a proposed ban on second-hand computers, aimed at avoiding dumping and reducing electronic waste in the country.
Well I've not heard that the ban is being enforced, or lifted, but I am a buyer of second hand branded computers and I have established that they are indeed more stable and reliable than "new" assembled klones.
I would advocate that the sale of second hand Dells and HPs and Compaqs etc be allowed to continue, in fact be encouraged over assembly of klones, because some of those computers have a minimum of 256 MB RAM + 2.something processors and this is clearly adequate to run most open source applications. What does a new user of computers need anyway - just OS proficiency + word processing + spreadsheet. They can then move to faster computers as their proficiency increases.
:)
-- Ngũgĩ Kĩmani Fundi wa Mitambo
On 11 June 2010 11:58, Josiah Mugambi <jmugambi@gmail.com> wrote:
It is safe I suppose to assume that not all targeted schools have a reliable (if any) source of electricity. Is there a plan for this?
-- Josiah Mugambi
On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 11:35 AM, Vitalis Olunga <volunga@yahoo.com> wrote:
The plan (purchasing of) for computers for schools, if implemented, seems more sustainable than the last year's budget for mobile ICT buses for constituencies. What the constituency leaders should now work for is to ensure the allocation of resources from the CDF to build computer labs in schools where they may be lacking. Many emerging schools may still be lacking computer labs and science labs as of now. One such school where I am the chairman of BGO (Obambo, Siaya) is yet to have a computer lab in place, and has no equipped science lab, but is it one of the best in the district (both in academic performance and sports). Regards
Vitalis
________________________________ From: "ikua@lpakenya.org" <ikua@lpakenya.org> To: volunga@yahoo.com Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Fri, June 11, 2010 9:20:18 AM Subject: [kictanet] the budget and ICT
Listers, The Government will spend 1.3B to buy 300 computers in each of the 210 constituencies. That means that each of the 63,000 computers will cost the taxpayer KSh 20,634/=. This is a very good initiative.
Now, they say that these computers will be assembled by institutions. I just hope this does not mean they will go for clones. They would do much better with branded, refurbished computers. As far as I know, the minister did not mention anything touching on used computers in the budget.
Now then, at this price, there is absolutely no allowance for software purchases. Which is all well as these computers can be loaded with open source software that will give much more value to the investment anyway. So we will be watching keenly to see what kind of deals Microsoft will try to push at the government to include their software in these computers, probably at a ¨small price¨.
The open source community is available and willing to advise the Government on the best way of ensuring that tax payer money is used prudently for the benefit of this country.
Ikua LPA-Kenya
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Good points, Barrack. I have wondered along the same lines: Just throwing computers out there makes little sense. I suspect that unless the use of computers is integrated into some sort of teaching or training effort, then rural people, like everyone else, will use them to surf the web for online dating, Facebook, music, smut and so on (I'd love to see stats from the Pasha centres which websites people actually visit). That's all cool, except I don't think it needs to be covered by taxpayers. It'd be great to have computer training etc in schools. But then wouldn't it be more sensible to include this in schools' overall budget and leave the administration up to them? Obviously there are a whole bunch of issues with school as we can see from the FPE money that went safari, but if schools can't manage those funds, they won't be able to manage computers either. Happy footie/furahi day, Andrea On 11 June 2010 14:38, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack@gmail.com> wrote:
Interesting discussion going on , i am abit pessimistic though about the success of this new initiative, my greatest concern is whether the move is well informed or that there is a potential of it turning into a White elephant of sorts. We have had many initiatives aimed at ensuring ICT tools are available and accessible to all, however there has been very little feedback or research on how this initiatives have faired on or their real impact on the community. That said i am asking myself whether it is better to teach a man how to fish or whether we should keep buying fish for them. To elaborate if we focus on capacity building we will enable the people to see the need for buying computers whether refurbished or not, when they buy the computers they will expect to get value for money (aka roi) and as such we are likely to see more innovative communities proping up from all corners of the country, it is for this reason that i feel this move is ill advised and something needs to be done before the money goes down the drain, computers are not an end in themselves they are just a means to an end, the notion that they are an end must be done away with. Well i suppose it is time the communication commision or any other relevant body conducted a study on the impact of previous initiatives similar to the one being implemented i suppose it is our right as citizens of this great republic to be informed. I fully support the other issues raised by fellow listers, i would also like to know where we are with the e-mado project and where it fits in this arrangement. I would like to hear from stakeholders their take on this matter
Back in March 2010, the Kenyan government had announced a proposed ban on second-hand computers, aimed at avoiding dumping and reducing electronic waste in the country.
Well I've not heard that the ban is being enforced, or lifted, but I am a buyer of second hand branded computers and I have established that they are indeed more stable and reliable than "new" assembled klones.
I would advocate that the sale of second hand Dells and HPs and Compaqs etc be allowed to continue, in fact be encouraged over assembly of klones, because some of those computers have a minimum of 256 MB RAM + 2.something processors and this is clearly adequate to run most open source applications. What does a new user of computers need anyway - just OS proficiency + word processing + spreadsheet. They can then move to faster computers as their proficiency increases.
:)
-- Ngũgĩ Kĩmani Fundi wa Mitambo
On 11 June 2010 11:58, Josiah Mugambi <jmugambi@gmail.com> wrote:
It is safe I suppose to assume that not all targeted schools have a reliable (if any) source of electricity. Is there a plan for this?
-- Josiah Mugambi
On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 11:35 AM, Vitalis Olunga <volunga@yahoo.com> wrote:
The plan (purchasing of) for computers for schools, if implemented,
seems
more sustainable than the last year's budget for mobile ICT buses for constituencies. What the constituency leaders should now work for is to ensure the allocation of resources from the CDF to build computer labs in schools where they may be lacking. Many emerging schools may still be lacking computer labs and science labs as of now. One such school where I am the chairman of BGO (Obambo, Siaya) is yet to have a computer lab in place, and has no equipped science lab, but is it one of the best in
district (both in academic performance and sports). Regards
Vitalis
________________________________ From: "ikua@lpakenya.org" <ikua@lpakenya.org> To: volunga@yahoo.com Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Fri, June 11, 2010 9:20:18 AM Subject: [kictanet] the budget and ICT
Listers, The Government will spend 1.3B to buy 300 computers in each of the 210 constituencies. That means that each of the 63,000 computers will cost
On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 11:36 AM, Ngũgĩ Kĩmani <ngugi@mafundi.co.ke> wrote: the the
taxpayer KSh 20,634/=. This is a very good initiative.
Now, they say that these computers will be assembled by institutions. I just hope this does not mean they will go for clones. They would do much better with branded, refurbished computers. As far as I know, the minister did not mention anything touching on used computers in the budget.
Now then, at this price, there is absolutely no allowance for software purchases. Which is all well as these computers can be loaded with open source software that will give much more value to the investment anyway. So we will be watching keenly to see what kind of deals Microsoft will try to push at the government to include their software in these computers, probably at a ¨small price¨.
The open source community is available and willing to advise the Government on the best way of ensuring that tax payer money is used prudently for the benefit of this country.
Ikua LPA-Kenya
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Well put Andrea and as someone put it there is a difference between having computers in schools and using computers in schools. Clearly we have got some thinking to do, i hope our good friends in government can see the salient issues being raised On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 1:46 PM, Andrea Bohnstedt <andrea.bohnstedt@ratio-magazine.com> wrote:
Good points, Barrack.
I have wondered along the same lines:
Just throwing computers out there makes little sense. I suspect that unless the use of computers is integrated into some sort of teaching or training effort, then rural people, like everyone else, will use them to surf the web for online dating, Facebook, music, smut and so on (I'd love to see stats from the Pasha centres which websites people actually visit). That's all cool, except I don't think it needs to be covered by taxpayers.
It'd be great to have computer training etc in schools. But then wouldn't it be more sensible to include this in schools' overall budget and leave the administration up to them? Obviously there are a whole bunch of issues with school as we can see from the FPE money that went safari, but if schools can't manage those funds, they won't be able to manage computers either.
Happy footie/furahi day, Andrea
On 11 June 2010 14:38, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack@gmail.com> wrote:
Interesting discussion going on , i am abit pessimistic though about the success of this new initiative, my greatest concern is whether the move is well informed or that there is a potential of it turning into a White elephant of sorts. We have had many initiatives aimed at ensuring ICT tools are available and accessible to all, however there has been very little feedback or research on how this initiatives have faired on or their real impact on the community. That said i am asking myself whether it is better to teach a man how to fish or whether we should keep buying fish for them. To elaborate if we focus on capacity building we will enable the people to see the need for buying computers whether refurbished or not, when they buy the computers they will expect to get value for money (aka roi) and as such we are likely to see more innovative communities proping up from all corners of the country, it is for this reason that i feel this move is ill advised and something needs to be done before the money goes down the drain, computers are not an end in themselves they are just a means to an end, the notion that they are an end must be done away with. Well i suppose it is time the communication commision or any other relevant body conducted a study on the impact of previous initiatives similar to the one being implemented i suppose it is our right as citizens of this great republic to be informed. I fully support the other issues raised by fellow listers, i would also like to know where we are with the e-mado project and where it fits in this arrangement. I would like to hear from stakeholders their take on this matter
On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 11:36 AM, Ngũgĩ Kĩmani <ngugi@mafundi.co.ke> wrote:
Back in March 2010, the Kenyan government had announced a proposed ban on second-hand computers, aimed at avoiding dumping and reducing electronic waste in the country.
Well I've not heard that the ban is being enforced, or lifted, but I am a buyer of second hand branded computers and I have established that they are indeed more stable and reliable than "new" assembled klones.
I would advocate that the sale of second hand Dells and HPs and Compaqs etc be allowed to continue, in fact be encouraged over assembly of klones, because some of those computers have a minimum of 256 MB RAM + 2.something processors and this is clearly adequate to run most open source applications. What does a new user of computers need anyway - just OS proficiency + word processing + spreadsheet. They can then move to faster computers as their proficiency increases.
:)
-- Ngũgĩ Kĩmani Fundi wa Mitambo
On 11 June 2010 11:58, Josiah Mugambi <jmugambi@gmail.com> wrote:
It is safe I suppose to assume that not all targeted schools have a reliable (if any) source of electricity. Is there a plan for this?
-- Josiah Mugambi
On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 11:35 AM, Vitalis Olunga <volunga@yahoo.com> wrote:
The plan (purchasing of) for computers for schools, if implemented, seems more sustainable than the last year's budget for mobile ICT buses for constituencies. What the constituency leaders should now work for is to ensure the allocation of resources from the CDF to build computer labs in schools where they may be lacking. Many emerging schools may still be lacking computer labs and science labs as of now. One such school where I am the chairman of BGO (Obambo, Siaya) is yet to have a computer lab in place, and has no equipped science lab, but is it one of the best in the district (both in academic performance and sports). Regards
Vitalis
________________________________ From: "ikua@lpakenya.org" <ikua@lpakenya.org> To: volunga@yahoo.com Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Fri, June 11, 2010 9:20:18 AM Subject: [kictanet] the budget and ICT
Listers, The Government will spend 1.3B to buy 300 computers in each of the 210 constituencies. That means that each of the 63,000 computers will cost the taxpayer KSh 20,634/=. This is a very good initiative.
Now, they say that these computers will be assembled by institutions. I just hope this does not mean they will go for clones. They would do much better with branded, refurbished computers. As far as I know, the minister did not mention anything touching on used computers in the budget.
Now then, at this price, there is absolutely no allowance for software purchases. Which is all well as these computers can be loaded with open source software that will give much more value to the investment anyway. So we will be watching keenly to see what kind of deals Microsoft will try to push at the government to include their software in these computers, probably at a ¨small price¨.
The open source community is available and willing to advise the Government on the best way of ensuring that tax payer money is used prudently for the benefit of this country.
Ikua LPA-Kenya
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-- Barrack O. Otieno +41767892272 Skype: barrack.otieno
I wrote an article a few years back about Intel's Classmate, that mini note book thingie that was launched as a rival to the OLPC. Whatever you think about Intel, at the time they made a really important point: They argued that if they just give away a bunch of laptops, in all likelihood nothing much would happen: the laptops would have no power, get stolen, people would surf for all sorts of nonsense, etc. So in their pilot initiatives, they made sure that the schools had connectivity, that there had been teacher training to show teachers how to hold classes with and through the notebooks, that there were teaching materials etc. Sensible approach, I thought. On 11 June 2010 14:49, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack@gmail.com> wrote:
Well put Andrea and as someone put it there is a difference between having computers in schools and using computers in schools. Clearly we have got some thinking to do, i hope our good friends in government can see the salient issues being raised
Good points, Barrack.
I have wondered along the same lines:
Just throwing computers out there makes little sense. I suspect that unless the use of computers is integrated into some sort of teaching or training effort, then rural people, like everyone else, will use them to surf the web for online dating, Facebook, music, smut and so on (I'd love to see stats from the Pasha centres which websites people actually visit). That's all cool, except I don't think it needs to be covered by taxpayers.
It'd be great to have computer training etc in schools. But then wouldn't it be more sensible to include this in schools' overall budget and leave the administration up to them? Obviously there are a whole bunch of issues with school as we can see from the FPE money that went safari, but if schools can't manage those funds, they won't be able to manage computers either.
Happy footie/furahi day, Andrea
On 11 June 2010 14:38, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack@gmail.com> wrote:
Interesting discussion going on , i am abit pessimistic though about the success of this new initiative, my greatest concern is whether the move is well informed or that there is a potential of it turning into a White elephant of sorts. We have had many initiatives aimed at ensuring ICT tools are available and accessible to all, however there has been very little feedback or research on how this initiatives have faired on or their real impact on the community. That said i am asking myself whether it is better to teach a man how to fish or whether we should keep buying fish for them. To elaborate if we focus on capacity building we will enable the people to see the need for buying computers whether refurbished or not, when they buy the computers they will expect to get value for money (aka roi) and as such we are likely to see more innovative communities proping up from all corners of the country, it is for this reason that i feel this move is ill advised and something needs to be done before the money goes down the drain, computers are not an end in themselves they are just a means to an end, the notion that they are an end must be done away with. Well i suppose it is time the communication commision or any other relevant body conducted a study on the impact of previous initiatives similar to the one being implemented i suppose it is our right as citizens of this great republic to be informed. I fully support the other issues raised by fellow listers, i would also like to know where we are with the e-mado project and where it fits in this arrangement. I would like to hear from stakeholders their take on this matter
On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 11:36 AM, Ngũgĩ Kĩmani <ngugi@mafundi.co.ke> wrote:
Back in March 2010, the Kenyan government had announced a proposed ban on second-hand computers, aimed at avoiding dumping and reducing
electronic
waste in the country.
Well I've not heard that the ban is being enforced, or lifted, but I am a buyer of second hand branded computers and I have established that
On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 1:46 PM, Andrea Bohnstedt <andrea.bohnstedt@ratio-magazine.com> wrote: they
are indeed more stable and reliable than "new" assembled klones.
I would advocate that the sale of second hand Dells and HPs and Compaqs etc be allowed to continue, in fact be encouraged over assembly of klones, because some of those computers have a minimum of 256 MB RAM + 2.something processors and this is clearly adequate to run most open source applications. What does a new user of computers need anyway - just OS proficiency + word processing + spreadsheet. They can then move to faster computers as their proficiency increases.
:)
-- Ngũgĩ Kĩmani Fundi wa Mitambo
On 11 June 2010 11:58, Josiah Mugambi <jmugambi@gmail.com> wrote:
It is safe I suppose to assume that not all targeted schools have a reliable (if any) source of electricity. Is there a plan for this?
-- Josiah Mugambi
On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 11:35 AM, Vitalis Olunga <volunga@yahoo.com> wrote:
The plan (purchasing of) for computers for schools, if implemented, seems more sustainable than the last year's budget for mobile ICT buses
for
constituencies. What the constituency leaders should now work for is to ensure the allocation of resources from the CDF to build computer labs in schools where they may be lacking. Many emerging schools may still be lacking computer labs and science labs as of now. One such school where I am the chairman of BGO (Obambo, Siaya) is yet to have a computer lab in place, and has no equipped science lab, but is it one of the best in the district (both in academic performance and sports). Regards
Vitalis
________________________________ From: "ikua@lpakenya.org" <ikua@lpakenya.org> To: volunga@yahoo.com Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Fri, June 11, 2010 9:20:18 AM Subject: [kictanet] the budget and ICT
Listers, The Government will spend 1.3B to buy 300 computers in each of the 210 constituencies. That means that each of the 63,000 computers will cost the taxpayer KSh 20,634/=. This is a very good initiative.
Now, they say that these computers will be assembled by institutions. I just hope this does not mean they will go for clones. They would do much better with branded, refurbished computers. As far as I know, the minister did not mention anything touching on used computers in the budget.
Now then, at this price, there is absolutely no allowance for software purchases. Which is all well as these computers can be loaded with open source software that will give much more value to the investment anyway. So we will be watching keenly to see what kind of deals Microsoft will try to push at the government to include their software in these computers, probably at a ¨small price¨.
The open source community is available and willing to advise the Government on the best way of ensuring that tax payer money is used prudently for the benefit of this country.
Ikua LPA-Kenya
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-- Barrack O. Otieno +41767892272 Skype: barrack.otieno
-- Andrea Bohnstedt Publisher +254 720 960 322 www.ratio-magazine.com
Good observations Andrea et al, We were part of the intel project and one of the things that gave it longevity is the digitized content for the sciences & maths that cyberschool provided. Today if you go to the kamiti secondary school, the intel project school, what is sustaining the whole dream is the laptop, the smartboard and the digitized content. I guess what this points to is the need for coherent planning for the 300 comps to ensure that a full package that enables better curriculum delivery through ICT's is implemented. Fortunately the MOE implemented a similar project in 2008-9 and there are some real lessons to share. Fatma Sent from my iPhone On Jun 11, 2010, at 2:54 PM, Andrea Bohnstedt <andrea.bohnstedt@ratio-magazine.com
wrote:
I wrote an article a few years back about Intel's Classmate, that mini note book thingie that was launched as a rival to the OLPC. Whatever you think about Intel, at the time they made a really important point: They argued that if they just give away a bunch of laptops, in all likelihood nothing much would happen: the laptops would have no power, get stolen, people would surf for all sorts of nonsense, etc.
So in their pilot initiatives, they made sure that the schools had connectivity, that there had been teacher training to show teachers how to hold classes with and through the notebooks, that there were teaching materials etc.
Sensible approach, I thought.
On 11 June 2010 14:49, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack@gmail.com> wrote: Well put Andrea and as someone put it there is a difference between having computers in schools and using computers in schools. Clearly we have got some thinking to do, i hope our good friends in government can see the salient issues being raised
Good points, Barrack.
I have wondered along the same lines:
Just throwing computers out there makes little sense. I suspect
the use of computers is integrated into some sort of teaching or
effort, then rural people, like everyone else, will use them to surf the web for online dating, Facebook, music, smut and so on (I'd love to see stats from the Pasha centres which websites people actually visit). That's all cool, except I don't think it needs to be covered by taxpayers.
It'd be great to have computer training etc in schools. But then wouldn't it be more sensible to include this in schools' overall budget and leave the administration up to them? Obviously there are a whole bunch of issues with school as we can see from the FPE money that went safari, but if schools can't manage those funds, they won't be able to manage computers either.
Happy footie/furahi day, Andrea
On 11 June 2010 14:38, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack@gmail.com> wrote:
Interesting discussion going on , i am abit pessimistic though
about
the success of this new initiative, my greatest concern is whether the move is well informed or that there is a potential of it turning into a White elephant of sorts. We have had many initiatives aimed at ensuring ICT tools are available and accessible to all, however
has been very little feedback or research on how this initiatives have faired on or their real impact on the community. That said i am asking myself whether it is better to teach a man how to fish or whether we should keep buying fish for them. To elaborate if we focus on capacity building we will enable the people to see
need for buying computers whether refurbished or not, when they buy the computers they will expect to get value for money (aka roi) and as such we are likely to see more innovative communities proping up from all corners of the country, it is for this reason that i feel this move is ill advised and something needs to be done before the money goes down the drain, computers are not an end in themselves they are just a means to an end, the notion that they are an end must be done away with. Well i suppose it is time the communication commision or any other relevant body conducted a study on the impact of previous initiatives similar to the one being implemented i suppose it is our right as citizens of this great republic to be informed. I fully support the other issues raised by fellow listers, i would also like to know where we are with the e-mado project and where it fits in this arrangement. I would like to hear from stakeholders their take on this matter
On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 11:36 AM, Ngũgĩ Kĩmani <ngugi@mafundi.co.ke> wrote:
Back in March 2010, the Kenyan government had announced a
on second-hand computers, aimed at avoiding dumping and reducing electronic waste in the country.
Well I've not heard that the ban is being enforced, or lifted, but I am a buyer of second hand branded computers and I have established
are indeed more stable and reliable than "new" assembled klones.
I would advocate that the sale of second hand Dells and HPs and Compaqs etc be allowed to continue, in fact be encouraged over assembly of klones, because some of those computers have a minimum of 256 MB RAM + 2.something processors and this is clearly adequate to run most open source applications. What does a new user of computers need anyway - just OS proficiency + word processing + spreadsheet. They can then move to faster computers as their proficiency increases.
:)
-- Ngũgĩ Kĩmani Fundi wa Mitambo
On 11 June 2010 11:58, Josiah Mugambi <jmugambi@gmail.com> wrote:
It is safe I suppose to assume that not all targeted schools
have a
reliable (if any) source of electricity. Is there a plan for
-- Josiah Mugambi
On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 11:35 AM, Vitalis Olunga <volunga@yahoo.com
wrote:
The plan (purchasing of) for computers for schools, if
implemented,
seems more sustainable than the last year's budget for mobile ICT buses for constituencies. What the constituency leaders should now work for is to ensure the allocation of resources from the CDF to build computer labs in schools where they may be lacking. Many emerging schools may still be lacking computer labs and science labs as of now. One such school where I am the chairman of BGO (Obambo, Siaya) is yet to have a computer lab in place, and has no equipped science lab, but is it one of the best in the district (both in academic performance and sports). Regards
Vitalis
________________________________ From: "ikua@lpakenya.org" <ikua@lpakenya.org> To: volunga@yahoo.com Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke
Sent: Fri, June 11, 2010 9:20:18 AM Subject: [kictanet] the budget and ICT
Listers, The Government will spend 1.3B to buy 300 computers in each of the 210 constituencies. That means that each of the 63,000 computers will cost the taxpayer KSh 20,634/=. This is a very good initiative.
Now, they say that these computers will be assembled by institutions. I just hope this does not mean they will go for clones. They would do much better with branded, refurbished computers. As far as I know,
minister did not mention anything touching on used computers in the budget.
Now then, at this price, there is absolutely no allowance for software purchases. Which is all well as these computers can be loaded with open source software that will give much more value to the investment anyway. So we will be watching keenly to see what kind of deals Microsoft will try to push at the government to include their software in these computers, probably at a ¨small price¨.
The open source community is available and willing to advise
On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 1:46 PM, Andrea Bohnstedt <andrea.bohnstedt@ratio-magazine.com> wrote: that unless training there the proposed ban that they this? the the
Government on the best way of ensuring that tax payer money is used prudently for the benefit of this country.
Ikua LPA-Kenya
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On that note, ICT Board: What DO people do on those Pasha Centre computers?? Does it match the Alexa stats for most popular sites in Kenya? On 11 June 2010 14:49, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack@gmail.com> wrote:
Well put Andrea and as someone put it there is a difference between having computers in schools and using computers in schools. Clearly we have got some thinking to do, i hope our good friends in government can see the salient issues being raised
Good points, Barrack.
I have wondered along the same lines:
Just throwing computers out there makes little sense. I suspect that unless the use of computers is integrated into some sort of teaching or training effort, then rural people, like everyone else, will use them to surf the web for online dating, Facebook, music, smut and so on (I'd love to see stats from the Pasha centres which websites people actually visit). That's all cool, except I don't think it needs to be covered by taxpayers.
It'd be great to have computer training etc in schools. But then wouldn't it be more sensible to include this in schools' overall budget and leave the administration up to them? Obviously there are a whole bunch of issues with school as we can see from the FPE money that went safari, but if schools can't manage those funds, they won't be able to manage computers either.
Happy footie/furahi day, Andrea
On 11 June 2010 14:38, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack@gmail.com> wrote:
Interesting discussion going on , i am abit pessimistic though about the success of this new initiative, my greatest concern is whether the move is well informed or that there is a potential of it turning into a White elephant of sorts. We have had many initiatives aimed at ensuring ICT tools are available and accessible to all, however there has been very little feedback or research on how this initiatives have faired on or their real impact on the community. That said i am asking myself whether it is better to teach a man how to fish or whether we should keep buying fish for them. To elaborate if we focus on capacity building we will enable the people to see the need for buying computers whether refurbished or not, when they buy the computers they will expect to get value for money (aka roi) and as such we are likely to see more innovative communities proping up from all corners of the country, it is for this reason that i feel this move is ill advised and something needs to be done before the money goes down the drain, computers are not an end in themselves they are just a means to an end, the notion that they are an end must be done away with. Well i suppose it is time the communication commision or any other relevant body conducted a study on the impact of previous initiatives similar to the one being implemented i suppose it is our right as citizens of this great republic to be informed. I fully support the other issues raised by fellow listers, i would also like to know where we are with the e-mado project and where it fits in this arrangement. I would like to hear from stakeholders their take on this matter
On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 11:36 AM, Ngũgĩ Kĩmani <ngugi@mafundi.co.ke> wrote:
Back in March 2010, the Kenyan government had announced a proposed ban on second-hand computers, aimed at avoiding dumping and reducing
electronic
waste in the country.
Well I've not heard that the ban is being enforced, or lifted, but I am a buyer of second hand branded computers and I have established that
On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 1:46 PM, Andrea Bohnstedt <andrea.bohnstedt@ratio-magazine.com> wrote: they
are indeed more stable and reliable than "new" assembled klones.
I would advocate that the sale of second hand Dells and HPs and Compaqs etc be allowed to continue, in fact be encouraged over assembly of klones, because some of those computers have a minimum of 256 MB RAM + 2.something processors and this is clearly adequate to run most open source applications. What does a new user of computers need anyway - just OS proficiency + word processing + spreadsheet. They can then move to faster computers as their proficiency increases.
:)
-- Ngũgĩ Kĩmani Fundi wa Mitambo
On 11 June 2010 11:58, Josiah Mugambi <jmugambi@gmail.com> wrote:
It is safe I suppose to assume that not all targeted schools have a reliable (if any) source of electricity. Is there a plan for this?
-- Josiah Mugambi
On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 11:35 AM, Vitalis Olunga <volunga@yahoo.com> wrote:
The plan (purchasing of) for computers for schools, if implemented, seems more sustainable than the last year's budget for mobile ICT buses
for
constituencies. What the constituency leaders should now work for is to ensure the allocation of resources from the CDF to build computer labs in schools where they may be lacking. Many emerging schools may still be lacking computer labs and science labs as of now. One such school where I am the chairman of BGO (Obambo, Siaya) is yet to have a computer lab in place, and has no equipped science lab, but is it one of the best in the district (both in academic performance and sports). Regards
Vitalis
________________________________ From: "ikua@lpakenya.org" <ikua@lpakenya.org> To: volunga@yahoo.com Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Fri, June 11, 2010 9:20:18 AM Subject: [kictanet] the budget and ICT
Listers, The Government will spend 1.3B to buy 300 computers in each of the 210 constituencies. That means that each of the 63,000 computers will cost the taxpayer KSh 20,634/=. This is a very good initiative.
Now, they say that these computers will be assembled by institutions. I just hope this does not mean they will go for clones. They would do much better with branded, refurbished computers. As far as I know, the minister did not mention anything touching on used computers in the budget.
Now then, at this price, there is absolutely no allowance for software purchases. Which is all well as these computers can be loaded with open source software that will give much more value to the investment anyway. So we will be watching keenly to see what kind of deals Microsoft will try to push at the government to include their software in these computers, probably at a ¨small price¨.
The open source community is available and willing to advise the Government on the best way of ensuring that tax payer money is used prudently for the benefit of this country.
Ikua LPA-Kenya
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-- Andrea Bohnstedt Publisher +254 720 960 322 www.ratio-magazine.com
and better still Posta also had an interesting project which never was, are there lessons to be learnt? On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 1:57 PM, Andrea Bohnstedt <andrea.bohnstedt@ratio-magazine.com> wrote:
On that note, ICT Board: What DO people do on those Pasha Centre computers?? Does it match the Alexa stats for most popular sites in Kenya?
On 11 June 2010 14:49, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack@gmail.com> wrote:
Well put Andrea and as someone put it there is a difference between having computers in schools and using computers in schools. Clearly we have got some thinking to do, i hope our good friends in government can see the salient issues being raised
On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 1:46 PM, Andrea Bohnstedt <andrea.bohnstedt@ratio-magazine.com> wrote:
Good points, Barrack.
I have wondered along the same lines:
Just throwing computers out there makes little sense. I suspect that unless the use of computers is integrated into some sort of teaching or training effort, then rural people, like everyone else, will use them to surf the web for online dating, Facebook, music, smut and so on (I'd love to see stats from the Pasha centres which websites people actually visit). That's all cool, except I don't think it needs to be covered by taxpayers.
It'd be great to have computer training etc in schools. But then wouldn't it be more sensible to include this in schools' overall budget and leave the administration up to them? Obviously there are a whole bunch of issues with school as we can see from the FPE money that went safari, but if schools can't manage those funds, they won't be able to manage computers either.
Happy footie/furahi day, Andrea
On 11 June 2010 14:38, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack@gmail.com> wrote:
Interesting discussion going on , i am abit pessimistic though about the success of this new initiative, my greatest concern is whether the move is well informed or that there is a potential of it turning into a White elephant of sorts. We have had many initiatives aimed at ensuring ICT tools are available and accessible to all, however there has been very little feedback or research on how this initiatives have faired on or their real impact on the community. That said i am asking myself whether it is better to teach a man how to fish or whether we should keep buying fish for them. To elaborate if we focus on capacity building we will enable the people to see the need for buying computers whether refurbished or not, when they buy the computers they will expect to get value for money (aka roi) and as such we are likely to see more innovative communities proping up from all corners of the country, it is for this reason that i feel this move is ill advised and something needs to be done before the money goes down the drain, computers are not an end in themselves they are just a means to an end, the notion that they are an end must be done away with. Well i suppose it is time the communication commision or any other relevant body conducted a study on the impact of previous initiatives similar to the one being implemented i suppose it is our right as citizens of this great republic to be informed. I fully support the other issues raised by fellow listers, i would also like to know where we are with the e-mado project and where it fits in this arrangement. I would like to hear from stakeholders their take on this matter
On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 11:36 AM, Ngũgĩ Kĩmani <ngugi@mafundi.co.ke> wrote:
Back in March 2010, the Kenyan government had announced a proposed ban on second-hand computers, aimed at avoiding dumping and reducing electronic waste in the country.
Well I've not heard that the ban is being enforced, or lifted, but I am a buyer of second hand branded computers and I have established that they are indeed more stable and reliable than "new" assembled klones.
I would advocate that the sale of second hand Dells and HPs and Compaqs etc be allowed to continue, in fact be encouraged over assembly of klones, because some of those computers have a minimum of 256 MB RAM + 2.something processors and this is clearly adequate to run most open source applications. What does a new user of computers need anyway - just OS proficiency + word processing + spreadsheet. They can then move to faster computers as their proficiency increases.
:)
-- Ngũgĩ Kĩmani Fundi wa Mitambo
On 11 June 2010 11:58, Josiah Mugambi <jmugambi@gmail.com> wrote:
It is safe I suppose to assume that not all targeted schools have a reliable (if any) source of electricity. Is there a plan for this?
-- Josiah Mugambi
On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 11:35 AM, Vitalis Olunga <volunga@yahoo.com> wrote: > > The plan (purchasing of) for computers for schools, if implemented, > seems > more sustainable than the last year's budget for mobile ICT buses > for > constituencies. What the constituency leaders should now work for > is > to > ensure the allocation of resources from the CDF to build computer > labs > in > schools where they may be lacking. Many emerging schools may still > be > lacking computer labs and science labs as of now. One such school > where I am > the chairman of BGO (Obambo, Siaya) is yet to have a computer lab > in > place, and has no equipped science lab, but is it one of the best > in > the > district (both in academic performance and sports). > Regards > > Vitalis > > ________________________________ > From: "ikua@lpakenya.org" <ikua@lpakenya.org> > To: volunga@yahoo.com > Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> > Sent: Fri, June 11, 2010 9:20:18 AM > Subject: [kictanet] the budget and ICT > > Listers, > The Government will spend 1.3B to buy 300 computers in each of the > 210 > constituencies. That means that each of the 63,000 computers will > cost > the > taxpayer KSh 20,634/=. This is a very good initiative. > > Now, they say that these computers will be assembled by > institutions. > I > just hope this does not mean they will go for clones. They would do > much > better with branded, refurbished computers. As far as I know, the > minister > did not mention anything touching on used computers in the budget. > > Now then, at this price, there is absolutely no allowance for > software > purchases. Which is all well as these computers can be loaded with > open > source software that will give much more value to the investment > anyway. So > we will be watching keenly to see what kind of deals Microsoft will > try to > push at the government to include their software in these > computers, > probably at a ¨small price¨. > > The open source community is available and willing to advise the > Government on the best way of ensuring that tax payer money is used > prudently for the benefit of this country. > > Ikua > LPA-Kenya > > > > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > This message was sent to: volunga@yahoo.com > Unsubscribe or change your options at > > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/volunga%40yahoo.com > > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > This message was sent to: jmugambi@gmail.com > Unsubscribe or change your options at > > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jmugambi%40gmail.com >
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participants (7)
-
Andrea Bohnstedt -
Barrack Otieno -
Fatma Bashir -
ikua＠lpakenya.org -
Josiah Mugambi -
Ngũgĩ Kĩmani -
Vitalis Olunga