At the onset of several stringent measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus back in April, Safaricom introduced a number of measures to cushion its subscribers from the adverse effects of the pandemic. One of those measures was the provision of free access to several e-learning platforms to learners across the country.
The access was meant to last for 3 months and that is set to lapse at the end of this month.
Now, the company has announced the extension of its partnerships with e-learning platforms like those operated by Eneza Education, video-on-demand service Viusasa and publisher Longhorn to continue supporting digital learning even as schools remain closed.
According to Safaricom, more than 10 million education bundles, which it provides via the *544# short code, have been redeemed to access the said e-learning platforms. SMS-based e-learning service Shupavu291, which enjoys Safaricom’s backing, has reported access by over 1.8 million learners over the last 3 months. “Waiving the daily fees on Shupavu291 has seen the number of learners accessing our platform every day grow by over 400%.” – Wambura Kimunyu, Eneza Education CEO. The extension of free digital learning affects the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development’s Kenya Education Cloud (download the Android app here ) and Eneza Education’s Mwalimoo service which will be accessible for free daily through the free daily 100 megabytes education bundle available through *544#. The bundle can also be used to access Viusasa and Longhorn’s e-learning platforms which are only open to paying subscribers. The latter had been available for free between March and June while the former offers some of the content, in video form, for free.
Learners can also access learning material in the form of unlimited lessons, quizzes, revision papers and direct access to teachers through the Shupavu291 SMS service provided by Eneza Education for free. All one needs to do to get started is send the word LEARNER to 20851.
