Last week in Nairobi, more than 100 young innovators from across the country gathered for the Learners EdTech Summit 2025 at Milele Hotel, Nairobi, organized by Mtoto News in partnership with EdTech East Africa. Watching them present their solutions, I could not shake one question…if children already know what the future of education should look like, why are adults still dragging their feet?
Kenya has invested heavily in digital transformation, from the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) to the Digital Superhighway agenda. But while adults argue over devices and budgets, children are clear about what they need.
At the summit, they asked for offline learning apps so rural children without internet are not excluded. They designed ideas for child-friendly platforms to fight cyberbullying, insisting that digital classrooms must be safe. They pushed for assistive technology in schools, screen readers, captioned videos and voice-to-text tools so that children with disabilities can learn without barriers. They even connected technology with climate justice, proposing a “Tree Track” app to monitor tree planting and growth.
Many will say that these are pipe dreams, but these solutions are practical and doable that speak directly to the gaps children face every day.
One student bravely shared, “Cyberbullying makes it difficult for us to focus and feel safe in a digital classroom.” Another added, “By learning about climate change in school, we can be better equipped to protect our planet for generations to come.” These voices remind all of us that apart from academics, education is also about safety, dignity and relevance.
Government leaders at the summit, including Principal Secretary for Children Services, CPA Caren Ageng’o, and Ambassador Philip Thigo, Kenya’s Special Envoy on Technology committed to listening. But listening is not enough. As Sam Smith, President of the Kenya Children Assembly, reminded us, the real test will be whether these ideas find their way into the FY 2026/2027 national budget, set to kick off on August 25th.
Because unless children’s voices translate into policy, we risk staging conferences that celebrate them on stage but silence them in practice.
Kenya prides itself on being a leader in innovation. If that is true, then we must let children lead, not as spectators, not as tokens, but as co-creators of the digital education systems they will inherit.
The Learners EdTech Summit 2025 gave us a glimpse of what that future could look like: inclusive, safe and driven by young minds. Now, it is up to us….government, parents, teachers, and innovators to act.
Kenya’s children are already building the future of education.
But question. will we be bold enough to follow their lead?