Laptops pledge takes centre stage at drama fete

A year after the Jubilee coalition was voted into power, Class One pupils in public schools are yet to receive the laptops pledged to them during the campaigns.

And this was the main thrust of the issues presented by primary schools in the ongoing Kenya Schools and Colleges Drama Festivals at Bishop Gatimu Ngandu Girls in Nyeri County on Thursday.

Among the most captivating presentations was a play titled Zipporah by St Joseph Catholic Primary School, from Ukunda, Kwale. It is about a clash of wills between Class One and Class Eight pupils.

The Class One pupils feel it is their constitutional right to get computers, but the Standard Eight pupils believe they are more suited to receive them because they are about to graduate to a higher level where computer studies will be more relevant.

A Class Eight girl named Zipporah sabotages the whole computer project by causing the systems to crash. As the school is thrown into chaos by the act, it takes the genius of one child, who is thought to be mentally challenged, to save the situation.

The child is the son of the head teacher and is house-ridden because he is believed to be incapable of joining school. The boy has been quietly training himself with a home computer, and he helps the school to reactivate the programme by unlocking the crashed gadgets.

RESILIENCE OF DISABLED PEOPLE

The play was not only about laptops but also about the resilience of disabled people to tackle challenges that the rest of society does not believe they are capable of untangling.

Still on the computers, pupils from SA Makutano Primary School in Bungoma presented a Kiswahili choral verse, "Vidude."

Their theme was similar to that of St Joseph: Which pupils deserve to get laptops? Should they be given to beginners, pupils in upper classes or all learners? The verse argued that the gadgets should be given to all pupils to allow them to learn ICT skills. The present and the future, the choral verse argued, belong to those who have knowledge of computers.

“The domination of this theme shows that the children are very passionate about the laptop issue,” said festival chairman Chokera Kahura.

Seven Folks Primary School presented a play, Digital Web, also on laptops and on the migration from analogue to digital TV. The play expounded on the need to create computer and TV programmes that are friendlier to children, and it showed how the devices would benefit children.

The move from analogue to digital TV should be done sooner than later, the play argued, as it would make more children ready for future challenges.

JUST A DREAM

Migosi Primary School, from the Nyanza region, had a colourful dance on the laptop theme, entitled "Singo." The dance begins with the main persona having a dream about studying using a laptop. She wakes up and realizes it was just a dream. The dance tackles the question of how the laptop project will be viable for schools in areas without electricity. It also poses the question of whether the authorities have their priorities right.

Sony Sugar Complex had a solo verse on the girl child, "The Storm," while St Augustine Preparatory, Mombasa, presented a Digo cultural dance, "Digitali."

The dance was about the government's plan to introduce laptops in schools and the opposition to the project voiced by teachers and parents. Later, the teachers and the community agree to embrace technology, and they do see the benefits.

In the college category at Bishop Ngandu’s Hall Two, Kenyenya Teachers Training College, from Kisii County, presented Precious, a play about the challenges facing the country in its quest to achieve Vision 2030. The challenges include terrorism, rising crime, youth unemployment and corruption. If these are not checked, the play argues, Vision 2030 will be nothing but a mirage.

Nairobi’s KTTC staged The Enemy Within, a play about men being swept away by alcohol, leaving women to bear all the responsibilities.

The event has drawn thousands of participants from around the country and continues Friday at Bishop Gatimu Ngandu Girls and Kagumo Teachers Training College in Nyeri County.