A recent UNICEF study dubbed the Yunitok opinion polls reveal that ninety-three percent of respondents, the majority between 15 and 30 years old, realize the significance of the internet in excellent academic performance.
The polls started in June 2022 to July 2022 and had more than forty-two thousand respondents participate. Eighty-six percent of the respondents were between the ages of fifteen and thirty.
The issues covered under the poll include enhancing education, social protection, primary health care, climate change, and ending violence against children.
Under the enhancing education poll, ninety-three percent of the respondents believed that the internet was either ‘very important’ or ‘somewhat important’ for excellent performance in school.
Furthermore, about forty percent of them believed that having an internet connection in school was a crucial thing that requires immediate intervention and thirty-three percent saw a need in prioritizing teacher training.
Yet, internet connectivity in schools remains a challenge. For instance, only forty percent of parents who took part in the poll revealed that their children could have access to the internet in school. Besides, respondents had little to no confidence in their online skills as only twenty-four percent of the children and the young population believed that they had excellent online skills.
Girls generally had less confidence in their internet skills than boys. Yet, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) believes that internet connectivity in schools is a vital form of providing digital skills to children as they will benefit from it now and in their future workplaces.
These opinion polls came in right before the general elections to help them understand children’s issues as stated by the young population. Besides, it will help call for the incoming government in Kenya to prioritize children’s issues.
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