Bridging the Digital Divide: Assessing the Availability and Educational Impact of Instant Network School (INS) Resources in Kakuma Refugee Camp Secondary Schools

John Osore Bach, Zilpah Kageha & Pamela Buhere
Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology
Osorebach94@gmail.com/ zkageha@mmust.ac.ke/ Pbuhere@mmust.ac.ke

Abstract: Preliminary reports on the Instant Network Schools (INS) initiative funded by Vodafone Foundation acknowledged high levels of engagement with digital resources. However, despite the integration of INS in Kakuma secondary schools, its utilization remains inconsistent, and its contribution to improving teaching and learning practices is insufficiently evidenced within the refugee context. The purpose of this study was to examine the availability of INS resources and their contribution to the teaching and learning practices in secondary schools within Kakuma Refugee Camp. A descriptive survey design was adopted, targeting 3,897 students and 94 teachers from three INS-implementing schools. A sample of 390 students and 24 teachers was obtained through stratified purposive sampling. Data were collected using questionnaires and interviews, then analyzed with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results revealed that the services offered by the INS were not fully utilized despite the availability of resources due to problems with poor internet connectivity, insufficient infrastructure, access to internet was not always available beyond the INS laboratories as well as limited training. It was concluded that although the utilization of INS is a contributing factor to the students’ learning practices, its overall practical value is insignificant and limited. To mitigate this, Vodafone Foundation should improve INS infrastructure, continue teacher and student training, and ensure the coherence of all actors in order to guarantee appropriate monitoring and assessment for the long-term effectiveness of the INS program in teaching and learning practices.