Kenya's Ministry of ICT and the country's ICT Authority plan to roll out 1.2 million digital devices to public primary schools by the end of December as part of the government's Digital Literacy Programme (DLP).

Officials believe the programme will result in radical changes to teaching and learning in Kenyan schools by entrenching ICT into the education system.

Teachers will be given laptops while learners will receive tablets that are loaded with content that has been approved by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development.

Joe Mucheru, Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of ICT says the DLP initiative will play a critical role in ensuring that Kenya becomes a knowledge based economy "We are now starting on a journey that will without a doubt transform not just the education sector but the entire economy. When we put these devices in the hands of our children, we are securing not just their future but that of the country and look forward to being a global IT powerhouse in a few years."

Mucheru says Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries will travel to different public primary schools where they will oversee the delivery and installation of the devices throughout October.

The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, through the Rural Electrification Authority and Kenya Power, is understood to have virtually connected all schools to the electricity grid or provided them with solar systems.

"Since the programme was conceptualised, we have always ensured that we involve as many stakeholders as possible. This is because there are different facets to the project that cannot be handled by one agency. The programme is having secondary benefits ranging from lighting up far flung areas that had no electricity to triggering subsidiary economies that complement the project," said Mucheru.

Fred Matiang'i, Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, says over 70,000 teachers have been trained to incorporate ICT into teaching and learning by Kenya's Teachers Service Commission.

ICT officers who will support the 80 000 teachers who are taking part in the DLP are also undergoing training which will be followed by their appointment as quality inspectors in the schools.

The countrywide DLP rollout this month comes after a pilot in May and June at three schools and nine special schools in each of Kenya's counties. Contracts for the manufacturing of the devices were signed by the ICT Authority and two consortia led by Moi University and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT).

JKUAT is setting up a local assembly park which has the capacity of assembling 750,000 devices per year and creating 3000 jobs according to the government. Moi University is also said to be in the process of building its own assembly park. Takaba Primary School in Mandera county will receive its set of devices for learners and teachers today.