Publication:

Concerns that the government should address in the implementation of information communication technology in primary schools in Tigoni zone, Kiambu county

The purpose of this research was to investigate the concerns that the government should address in the implementation of ICT in primary school in Tigoni Zone, Limuru sub-county Kiambu County. The study used descriptive study survey research design. According to Orodha (2005), survey research design is a method that collects the data by administering questionnaires to a sample of selected individuals. The study was prompted by the role ICT plays in the education sector, especially at the modern time that the world is in the transition period of the digital world. In fact, the implementation of ICT in primary school is also faced with many challenges given that it has come during a period when Kenyan government is faced with the dilemma concerning teacher pay increment and investment in ICT. Many schools in Tigoni zone faced the capacity challenges as well as the lack of personnel. In that context, the study assessed the concerns that the government should address when implementing ICT in primary school in Tigoni area of Limuru sub-county, Kiambu County. To achieve this, the study used naturalistic and survey research designs where simple and stratified random sampling were utilized. The target population was all the 17 primary schools in Tigoni zone, Limuru sub-county, Kiambu County. Questionnaire will be used as the primary tool for data collection where a sample size of 300 pupils, 25 teachers, 5 head teachers and 5 sub-county education officials were questioned. The quantitative data collected was coded by assigning numerical values to the responses. Both construct and content validity was conducted to ascertain the validity of the instruments used in collecting data. SPSS software was used to analyze the data collected while the qualitative data analysis was done in accordance with the research questions. From the above findings, the researcher found out that there was limited number of qualified ICT teachers. The majority of the respondent indicated that they were not competent to facilitate the use and implementation of ICT in schools. In fact, the majority of those teachers who were computer literate were not comfortable in using ICT, and they could not offer the support to other teachers who were not fluent with ICT use. Although the majority of teachers were computer literate, many of them did not have the required ICT competencies to facilitate ICT use in primary schools. It would therefore be very prudent for the government to offer in-service training for teachers on ICT so as to boost their competence. The government should also mobilize all the resources required and equip all the school with ICT infrastructure necessary for learning. In addition, all the related security gadgets, including anti- virus for the computers should be integrated with the implementation process. On the same note, teachers should be encouraged to learn on their own how to integrate ICT into the curriculum whenever there is an opportunity during their holidays.