PS Kipsang assures quality in new Open University

Kenyans have been reassured by Education PS Belio Kipsang that the Open University of Kenya, which is awaiting accreditation, will uphold high standards and that its curriculum and instruction will be on par with that of any degree delivered through in-person programs.
According to him, the new university will make excellent higher education more accessible to more people and will be modeled after others in nations like Israel.
“There is international practice on open universities all over the World, and Kenya will have its own based on those practices,” he said, adding that the Kikuyu Campus-based Extra-Mural Programmes have been providing degree courses for ages and the graduates have been as good as, if not better.
ICTs must be integrated into both the management of education and the teaching and learning process, according to Dr. Kipsang.
This entails supplying educational institutions with ICT infrastructure and training administrators, instructors, and other stakeholders in how to value digital literacy.
He emphasized the importance of African nations ensuring that everyone has equitable access to education and learning opportunities, as outlined in the United Nations’ Sustainable development target number four.
Kipsang urged African nations and educators to constantly design curricula that foster the development of other human capacities in addition to knowledge as he gave a speech at the Fourth African Curriculum Association Conference’s concluding session in Nairobi.
He noted that curricula that are appropriate for the 21st Century necessitate the development of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). “African countries should focus on designing curricula that develop learner competencies as opposed to memorization,” he stated.
Additionally, he urged Africa not to disregard the importance of indigenous cultures, languages, and technologies while cautioning against hastily adopting the term “best practices” as a euphemism.
He declared that the work of the Presidential Working Party on Education was complete, and that after six months of consultations, President William Ruto would receive its report.
The socioeconomic condition of the family determines access to early childhood programs in Yakba Wassou Nathan’s native Chad, where the wealthy have an advantage and other children have less access.
While students in traditional classrooms are passive members who solely rely on teachers, according to Grace Chiboko of Nigeria, students in 21st-century classrooms have opportunities to actively participate in the construction of their own knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes.
The conference was a tremendous chance for Kenya to host, especially at a time when the nation was introducing a new curriculum, the KICD Executive Director stated during the closing ceremony.
He said that a book including the presentations delivered during the meeting would be released for future reference.
The next conference will take place in Ivory Coast the following year, according to ACA Secretary General Gertrude Namubiru. The organization works to plan and arrange training programs that support joint research across African nations.
Chad, Benin, Uganda, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo Brazzaville, Gambia, Eswatini, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Niger, and South Sudan are just a few of the nations that will be participating at the three-day meeting.