The first consignment of tablets for standard one pupils will arrive this Friday from China, ICT CS Joe Mucheru has said.
Mucheru led a government delegation on a one-week tour of the manufacturer’s factory. He said they carried out a successful inspection.
The delegation comprised ICT Authority CEO Robert Mugo and representatives from the Education ministry and the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development.
“Our inspection centered on quality assurance at the factory,” Mucheru said.
Moi University has partnered with JP SA Couto while JKUAT has partnered with Postivo to supply the Sh19 billion-worth laptops.
The CS said the contractors target is to deliver tablet-laptops to 370 schools per month.
Initially, the plan was to deliver 600,000 devices, which were to be distributed to pupils in 11,000 primary schools by September this year.
Mugo said subsequent shipments will be by sea, but the Friday consignment will be delivered by air. The tablets will be distributed to pupils in 370 schools.
“It is expensive to ship the devices by air,” he said and added the plan is to have a weekly shipment from China by sea.
He disclosed that next week, the first shipment by sea sets out for Kenya and will take a month before it arrives.
The two contractors successfully rolled out a pilot exercise on the delivery of the tablets to 150 schools spread across 47 counties from February to May.
The 12-week pilot tested their ability to deliver on schedule, adhere to device specifications, install and test content. This was to assure the country they will work as planned.
The government has said it is committed to ensuring the free laptop project is successful. It is one of Jubilee’s 2013 election pledges.