Page 26 - People Daily Newspaper

PEOPLE DAILY / Monday, September 20, 2021

Scholar Training future leaders

BRIEFLY IUPC members
of staff led by
Helping children Academic Manager
Tom Olang
(Centre), during
with learning the institution’s
launch recently.
disabilities PD/JOHN OCHIENG
By Lucy Simiyu
@PeopleDailyKE
Parents need to come to terms with
the fact that their children learn at dif-
ferent speeds from others. For a child
who is unable to keep up with his or her
peers, it is important to find out why and
how to help.
Learning disabilities describe a
range of learning and thinking differ-
ences that can affect the way the brain
takes in, uses, stores, and sends out in-
formation. Some children have specific
learning disabilities, such as reading,
or math limitations. Others may have
conditions that affect learning, such as
attention deficit, or hyperactivity disor-
der (ADHD) and children can have more By Milliam Murigi
than one disability. @millymur
There are many reasons a child may nvestments in Kenya’s higher education sec- Bridging the gap for
have difficulties to learn, including
childhood illnesses, such as meningitis, tor is forecast to continue in the long term,
poor growth in the uterus, exposure to making it exceptionally fertile ground for
alcohol by the mother and other drugs student recruitment. international students
during pregnancy, premature birth, and Globally, higher education – and particu-
low birth weight. Psychological trauma, larly the ‘study-abroad’ concept, continues
or abuse in early childhood may affect I to attract investors despite the existing chal-
brain development and increase the lenges triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic.
risk of learning disorders. Head inju- com, an international student recruitment pro- in the wake of Corona
According to a 2020 survey by educations.
ries, as well as nervous system infec-
tions play a role in the development of gramme, 5.4 per cent of prospective students
learning disorders. intend to cancel their study abroad plans in light
Although learning and thinking dif- of the pandemic. This newly established educational institution in Kenya has opened its
ferences may not always be obvious, About 45.2 per cent of prospective students
there are signs that signal the need for interested in in-person study opportunities were doors to students looking to further their studies abroad by offering pre-
help for a child. For preschool children, entertaining the idea of studying an international university programmes, at a time when coronavirus has had a major
delayed language development, or degree digitally. “Students who told us they were
speech difficulties after the age of two primarily interested in in-person (or classroom) impact on international higher education with border closures, cancelled
and a half should be discussed with the courses are now considering getting their de- flights, and a shift to online teaching and learning
doctor. grees online due to Covid-19,” the report read.
By three years, a child should In light of this, institutions are responding
express themselves in a manner un- quickly to the rising demands for online study flight travels not an option. “It became difficult connected institution in Business, Sciences, Hu-
derstood by adults. From five, a child options for the international student community, for students to transit abroad. Travel bottlenecks manities, Art and Design and Innovation, tackling
should be able to button clothing, use with 85.1 per cent of current students surveyed birthed the motivation to launch here in Kenya,” 21st Century challenges and opportunities and
scissors and hop. They should be able saying they are taking classes online due of Co- reveals Olang. developing future leaders and managers. “Our
to copy a circle, square or triangle. A vid-19. Although potential students are interested in expansive curriculum covers Business, Humani- 0-"/(
struggle with these tasks shows the The International University Pathways College studying their degrees online, Olang notes that ties, Engineering, Art and Design and Science/
child is having trouble with coordina- (IUPC), for instance, is one such institution eyeing their concerns regarding the quality and recogni- Medicine streams. Students can then progress *U
tion. Between three to five years of age, the growing number of prospective international tion of a virtual degree weigh heavily on most into over 4,000 degree choices, such as Law,
a child should be able to sit still and students with the unveiling of a Kenyan outlet that of them. “We are seeing a growing interest and Architecture, Finance and Marketing, Interior CFDBNF
listen to a short story. offers pre-university programmes. requests with over 70 students expressing plans Design, Computer Science,” added Olang.
School aged children and teens with According to the institution’s Academic Man- to enroll just weeks after our official launch,” he Olang says pathway programmes are, espe- EJGàDVMU GPS
learning disabilities will experience ager, Tom Olang, the Nairobi-based satellite said. cially popular among students from international
trouble in understanding verbal direc- campus will fundamentally target learners seek- IUPC is a one- of-a-kind facility located at the schools who do not want to go through the tradi- TUVEFOUT
tions, staying organised at home and ing higher education and degree courses from heart of posh Lavington neighbourhood that aims tional A-Level Programme that takes 30 weeks
school, absorbing facts and remember- renowned global universities. “This is a founda- to specialise on International Foundation Year of teaching then join universities abroad. “It is UP USBOTJU
ing information. Reading, spelling, or tion programme that offers a pathway, which (IFY) in aggregation with the Northern Consor- also necessary for Kenya Certificate of Secob-
education, but need the 13th year to fit in the UK BCSPBE 5SBWFM
sounding words becomes challenging. students can follow to start their undergraduate tium of UK universities (NCUK). “Our students dary Education graduands who have 12 years of
Solving math calculations and word programmes abroad and we are doing this in can choose to study thousands of degree courses
get a credit waiver for the extra year they spend CPUUMFOFDLT
problems, concentration and comple- collaboration with our partner universities. We and progress to universities in the UK, Australia, universities. Students proceeding to the US could
tion of school work, self-expression target students who have done year 11 and A- and New Zealand, Canada and USA and our
through speech, or writing also proves levels, as well as those with Kenya Certificate of dedicated student support team will help them here since the US needs 12 years of education,” CJSUIFE UIF
difficult. Secondary Education training and want to move through their entire university application jour- he offers.
A parent noticing a learning difficulty overseas,” noted Olang in an interview. ney,” he says, adding that students are guaran- At the IUPC Kenya campus, in-person learn- NPUJWBUJPO UP
should liaise with the teacher and the IUPC’s recent launch coincided with the rapid teed admission in those partner campuses. ing and paper-based assessment are being
when institutions had placed systems to deliver MBVODI IFSF JO
child’s doctor to seek assistance. A pe- increase in confirmed cases and deaths from Olang further says that the affordable costs of conducted at the moment. “We noted that even
diatrician, specialists in neurodevelop- Covid-19 in key destination countries for inter- study singles out the institution as a go-to place
mental disabilities, developmental and nationally mobile students, such as the United for such programmes. The curriculum calendar the curriculum through online platforms, a sig- ,FOZB
behavioural pediatrics, child neurology, Kingdom, Spain and the United States. lasts a minimum of 30 weeks with a semester nificant number of students across institutions
or child psychology can help identify When the pandemic hit last year, more coun- each lasting 15 weeks or nine months for the were not able to make the most of the learning
problems and advise on necessary tries introduced tighter restrictions, including entire foundation course. “The cost effectiveness experience. Some had ‘zoom fatigue;’ others had
interventions. Focussing on the child’s lockdowns to tackle the spread and rising death comes in terms of doing the foundation. You connectivity challenges and low bandwidth; some
strengths and provision of parental love toll from coronavirus. As a result, key sectors, need between Sh3 million and Sh4 million to do simply failed to log in or logged in, but listened
and support are important in aiding this including education took a hit from such inter- it abroad for the one year programme, while it passively without benefitting from the classes; a
process. ventions – meaning the majority of learners were will cost about Sh1.1 million to pursue the same few simply hated online classes. That, however,
-The writer is Crawford International forced to change their study abroad plans with programme in Kenya,” opines Olang. is not to say that online learning is not beneficial,”
School psychologist. The vision of the college is to create a globally- Olang said in conclusion.