المستخلص: |
This paper analysis the inequalities that exist in the access to ICT facilities such as radio, television, computer, mobile phones, internet, and electricity that support e-learning platforms in Kenya. The paper is motivated by the March 2020 presidential directive of closing all learning institutions in Kenya in a bid to manage Covid-19. After the closure, some learning institutions embraced e-learning to reach out to the learners at home. The paper, therefore, sought to establish whether there is equity in terms of access to e-learning programs by all learners in Kenya regardless of the geographical location, area of residence(rural/urban), and purchasing power of their households. The paper used desktop review research design and analyzed data from Welfare and Monetary Survey (WMS) 1994, Kenya Integrated Household Budget Surveys (KIHBS) of 2005/2006 and 2015/2015 as well as Kenya Census data of 2009 and 2019. The results indicate that there is a high level of inequality in access to ICT facilities by level of household poverty, area of residence (urban/rural) and by county. The results also indicate that apart from the Radio, all other ICT facilities are more accessible in urban areas than in rural areas and thus e-learning disadvantages learners from rural areas and poor families. The paper recommends that since radio (stand-alone or in-built in mobile phones) is widely accessible by the majority of the learners both in rural and urban areas, the e-learning programs should be relayed much more by radio. There is also a need for the government to provide e-learning facilities such as electricity and internet to all regions to promote the use of internet-supported applications such as Microsoft teams, google meet, google class, Zoom, and Webinar among others, to enhance interactive e-learning programs to all learners across the country.
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