EIDU: Educational equity through digital education

When it comes to digital education, many countries are facing challenging conditions, including Kenya. Here, the EIDU (Education for Digital Understanding) project plays an important role in promoting digital education. The EIDU team uses innovative technologies to give children in countries in the global south access to high-quality education, because high-quality education is the key to accessing better opportunities in work and society.

In this magazine article, we take a look at EIDU’s work in Kenya and how the educational landscape can change through the use of the digital education platform.

When it comes to digital education, many countries are facing challenging conditions, including Kenya. Here, the EIDU (Education for Digital Understanding) project plays an important role in promoting digital education. The EIDU team uses innovative technologies to give children in countries in the global south access to high-quality education, because high-quality education is the key to accessing better opportunities in work and society.

In this magazine article, we take a look at EIDU’s work in Kenya and how the educational landscape can change through the use of the digital education platform.

SDG 4: Education as a key to sustainable development

Education is not only a fundamental human right, but also the key factor for sustainable development. A well-educated population lays the foundation for combating poverty and inequality and promotes sustainable economic growth. In addition, education has a positive impact on health and strengthens the role of women, because only knowledge about it enables full participation in society and the economy. This is also what the BMZ states in its statements on the fourth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) and supports the EIDU education project presented here.

The importance of digital education

For many people, using their smartphones every day is normal. However, the conscious and healthy use of digital media for one's own benefit must first be learned. Unlike reading, writing or arithmetic, this is not about learning a method or simply learning factual knowledge. The digital world is constantly evolving and requires a different attitude to learning than that taught in most schools: lifelong learning. However, if there is no access to this, learners miss out on important opportunities. Core skills such as collaboration, digital communication, problem solving and the responsible use of information and digital media cannot be acquired.

This fundamental importance of digital education for development shows how much potential there is here and that EIDU has taken on a major task.

Digital education as a path to equal opportunities

EIDU implements its mission in different regions of the world. The current project is in Kenya. Through innovative technological solutions, EIDU brings high-quality educational content and resources to children and communities that have previously had limited access to digital education. Using tablets, smartphones and specially developed online platforms, EIDU enables interactive learning that is tailored to the needs and cultural environment of the learners. Teachers are taught how to create a profile of students and track their learning progress. In this way, students improve their literacy skills in a fun way, expand their knowledge and also develop important skills for the modern world.

Kenya’s collaboration with EIDU

In collaboration with local county governments, EIDU is currently organizing the nationwide rollout of the platform in all public preschools in Kenya. The ambitious goal is to reach around 2 million children by 2025. By providing 1 to 3 devices per classroom, teachers gain access to the platform, which provides daily lesson plans as well as personalized exercises for students. In addition, students' learning progress is automatically and continuously assessed with internationally recognized tests.

EIDU has already achieved significant milestones to promote quality and digital education in Kenya. With 160,000 currently active students and 7,500 trained teachers, it is already making a significant impact on the education system. The platform has been rolled out in over 3,500 public schools to date. EIDU's presence extends to seven counties in Kenya, including Nairobi, Mombasa, Embu, Kiambu, Murang'a, Machakos and Makueni. By working with these counties, EIDU's mission can achieve broad impact and has the potential to make a lasting difference in the lives of many students.

share Tut Gutes Tariff for digital education

We at share believe that there are many reasons to support the work of EIDU and this is exactly what the Tut Gutes tariff does. Using the app or the website for the share Tut Gutes tariff, anyone can become a part of this wonderful and important initiative and support students in Kenya on their educational journey. Because every month with this tariff means donating one month of digital education. We can only hope that this project can continue to grow with your support and that digital education will be recognized worldwide as a key to greater educational equality. Be a part of it now.