Coding in Kenyan schools: what the KICD-approved curriculum means for your child

In April 2022 the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development announced a government-approved coding curriculum for primary and secondary schools. The following year UNESCO named Kenya the first country in Africa to make coding a subject in primary and secondary schools, in its global report on technology in education.

Many parents read the headlines and relaxed. Coding is in the curriculum now. The school will handle it.

Before you relax, look at what the approval covers.

What the approval says

The curriculum was developed with Kodris Africa, a private company, as part of Kenya’s National Digital Master Plan for 2022 to 2032. It targets children aged 7 to 16 and teaches Python, with a focus on algorithms, debugging and logic.

Most headlines skipped one detail. According to the Nation, the programme runs online and families buy licences. A child needs a computer at home and an internet connection.

So the approval tells you the content passed KICD review. It doesn’t tell you your child’s school teaches it, how many hours a week, on what computers, or who pays.

“Approved for schools” and “taught at your child’s school” are two separate facts. Only the second one reaches your child.

Where coding does reach children

Some of the best coding in Kenyan schools happens outside the timetable. The Raspberry Pi Foundation reports more than 1,000 Code Clubs in Kenya, running in 40 of the 47 counties. They are free weekly sessions in schools and community spaces. The Standard visited one at Uhuru Gardens Comprehensive School in Nairobi, where Grade 7 and 8 pupils build animations and games, and a teacher has run the club for six years.

This is good news, and it depends on luck. Your child gets a Code Club if their school has one, a teacher willing to run it, and computers which work on club day.

Now the question which should make you a little restless. If you asked your child tonight what they learned in coding at school this term, what would they say? Some children would describe a computer studies lesson on typing or naming the parts of a computer. Some would say they have never written a program.

You won’t know until you ask.

Five questions to ask your child’s school

Take these to the next parents’ meeting, or send them to the class teacher this week.

1. Does my child have coding lessons, and in which grade do they start?
2. How many hours a week, and do children write programs or learn about computers?
3. How many children share one computer during the lesson?
4. Who teaches it, and what training in coding does the teacher have?
5. Is there a Code Club or similar club, and how does a child join?

Good schools answer these without fuss. Write the answers down. In January, ask your child to show you one program they made. The two answers together tell you what your child is getting.

If the answer is “not yet”

Many schools will say coding is coming. Don’t wait for it. Three routes cost little or nothing.

Scratch is free at scratch.mit.edu and runs in the browser, designed for ages 8 to 16. Ask the school or nearby schools about a Code Club, since clubs welcome children from the community in some places. Borrow a laptop on weekends if yours is shared, because a coding habit needs a regular slot more than a new machine.

A paid class is the fourth route. It suits families who want a teacher, a group and a finished project to show at the end of a term. Weigh it against the free options and what your child needs.

Check the details yourself

The approval article, the UNESCO coverage and the Code Club report sit at the bottom of this page. I have read KICD announcements and news coverage. I haven’t found a public figure for how many Kenyan schools teach coding each week, and I’d be wary of anyone who quotes one without a source.

Policy changes, and schools differ more than any national number shows. Your child’s school is the one which counts. Ask them.