Does geography determine educational access? For many learners in Kenya, it still does. In our line of work, we have interacted with teachers from rural Western Kenya. Among the challenges they face in embracing digital learning, they mention limited infrastructure. Lack of enough digital devices and internet access limits their teaching experiences.
According to Sumida, S. Kawata, K., (2021), the divide between rural and urban classrooms reflects systemic gaps, not differences in potential.
Where is the Real Challenge?
In Kenya and across Africa, the gap between rural and urban learners is not about ability or effort, but about access and design.
Rural schools continue to face limited connectivity, unreliable electricity, fewer digital devices, and reduced opportunities for teacher training (Mathebula, Z., et al., 2025). Digital learning tools, while expanding rapidly, often assume stable internet access and urban classroom realities, unintentionally excluding rural learners.
In the recent educational reforms, Kenya transitioned from the 8-4-4 system to the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), introducing coding with Scratch at the primary school level. For many in-service teachers, this was a new area, leaving them underprepared to teach the subject effectively. With these kinds of reforms, teachers fear looking incompetent and feel exposed.
While the government and other stakeholders have made efforts to address this issue, significant gaps in skills and confidence persist, particularly among teachers in rural areas. This highlights the need for continued, targeted support.
Can the Government and Edtech Players Fix This?
Closing this gap requires intentional collaboration between government and EdTech players. Government investment in rural digital infrastructure, affordable connectivity, and teacher capacity-building would play a crucial role in eliminating disparities in rural education (Ishii, Y., & Meke, E., 2022). Additionally, this investment must move in step with EdTech solutions designed for low-bandwidth and offline environments.
At the same time, EdTech players must design with context in mind, aligning tools to the Kenyan curriculum and the everyday realities of rural classrooms (Daltry, R., et al., 2025). When policy, infrastructure, and innovation work together, technology becomes an enabler rather than another layer of exclusion.
Are We Playing Our Part as EduTab Africa?
At EduTab Africa, our work is grounded in the belief that learners in rural areas are capable, curious, and ready. What often needs strengthening is the system around them. We focus on supporting the implementation of context-appropriate digital learning solutions that prioritise teacher empowerment, accessibility, and relevance.
In 2025, we worked with teachers from rural schools in Western Kenya through Teacher Professional Development (TPD) workshops under the Equitable Creative Coding Resource (ECCR) programme. Using Scratch, we supported teachers to build foundational coding skills, while the EduTab Africa GoLearn App enabled offline access to learning courses via mobile phones. By using offline-ready devices and low-bandwidth content, we addressed common accessibility barriers and demonstrated that with the right support, teachers in low-resource contexts can meaningfully engage with digital learning.
The process faced a few challenges. Many teachers initially struggled to self-register for the online Scratch course, highlighting a broader gap in basic digital skills. This reinforced that introducing new tools must go hand in hand with strengthening foundational digital confidence. Through guided support and encouragement, the training progressed more smoothly.
Beyond teacher development, we also support classrooms through open-source learning materials. Our African Children’s Stories (ACS) initiative provides stories that can be used to teach STEAM concepts, made openly available to avoid placing additional financial strain on schools and communities.
When educators are supported, classroom practice improves. Blended learning approaches, combined with locally contextualised content and supportive learning environments, are effective in strengthening teacher preparedness (Fundi, M., et al., 2025). By working closely with educators, communities, and partners, we aim to bridge gaps in skills, resources, and confidence, ensuring technology enhances teaching and learning rather than overwhelming it.
Looking Forward
The future of education equity in Kenya depends on how boldly we rethink our systems. Learners from rural areas do not need to catch up; rather, our policies, platforms, and partnerships do. When government, EdTech players, and communities commit to inclusive design and shared responsibility, we move closer to a learning ecosystem where opportunity is not determined by location. Moreover, equity in education will not come from scaling platforms alone, but from scaling empathy, content and teacher confidence.
At EduTab Africa, we are committed to making learning in the rural regions easier and accessible through Teacher Professional Development (TPD), offering offline accessible learning resources, and building eLearning systems that are easy to navigate. Shall we partner to keep this mission alive? Let’s talk.
References
Ishii, Y., & Meke, E. (2022). An Analysis of Rural-Urban Learning Performance Inequality in Malawi Primary Education. East African Journal of Education Studies, 5(2), 194-211. https://doi.org/10.37284/eajes.5.2.716
Sumida, S. & Kawata, K. (2021). An analysis of the learning performance gap between urban and rural areas in sub-Saharan Africa. SA Journal of Education, 41(2). https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v41n2a1779
Daltry, R., Hinks, J., Sun, C., Major, L., Otieno, M., & Otieno, K. (2025). Integrating Digital Personalised Learning into Early-Grade Classroom Practice: A Teacher–Researcher Design-Based Research Partnership in Kenya. Education Sciences, 15(6), 698. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15060698
Mathebula, Z., Moila, O., Maile, S., & Mnisi, S. (2025). Inadequate teacher training as a barrier to ICT integration in early childhood education: A case of selected primary schools in Tshwane West District Circuit 4. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 24(3), 55–74. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.24.3.3
Fundi, M., Kimani, J., Njoroge, P., Sanusi, I. T., Kioko, L., Njoroge, F., Chorongo, M., Mmulah, V., & Oyelere, S. S. (2025). Blended teacher professional development for integrating Scratch coding in classrooms in Western Kenya. In Proceedings of the 25th Koli Calling International Conference on Computing Education Research (pp. 1–11). Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/3769994.3770033