Kenya: Instant Network Schools
Instant Network Schools: Improving Quality of Education through Digital Technology
In collaboration with the Vodafone Foundation and refugee communities, UNHCR has developed and adapted the Instant Network School, an innovative response to the challenges that teachers in sub-Saharan Africa face as they work in under-resourced classrooms, trying to meet the needs of a large number of mixed-age and mixed-ability learners.
The Instant Network Schools (INS) programme has grown significantly since Vodafone Foundation partnered with UNHCR in 2013 to connect schools in Dadaab camp. The partnership realized the benefits of utilizing connectivity in schools to connect students to educational resources and to the broader online world.
Selected schools and community centres are kitted out with a ‘digital box’ that includes a set of computer tablets, solar-powered batteries, a satellite or mobile network, and a suite of content and online learning material. Each INS is run by a local coach who provides in-service training and support for learners and teachers. Daily logs of INS use are recorded and uploaded to a global platform which helps to track utilisation, flag challenges and identify areas for re-design or capacity building.
“Watching the way that ICT has changed learning for my students is the most interesting thing I have ever experienced. They are more engaged and interested.”
Ador, teacher at Greenlight Secondary School, Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya
To date, the programme has benefited over 86,500 students and 1,000 teachers ensuring that refugees and children from the communities that host them have access to accredited, quality, and relevant learning opportunities. There are 36 Instant Network Schools currently operating across eight refugee camps in Kenya, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan.
Vodafone Foundation and UNHCR are expanding the programme to benefit 500,000 refugee and host community students and 10,000 teachers with 255 new Instant Network Schools by 2025.