Following the increased spread of COVID-19 in the country, the Cabinet Secretary of Education, Prof. Magoha ruled that all schools would remain closed until next year (2021). Consequently, e-learning became one of the main channels of ensuring the continued education of students across the country. The Safaricom CEO agreed to extend the company’s partnership with the e-learning platforms namely Viusasa, Longhorn Publishers and Eneza Education until September 8th 2020. These three platforms provide students of all levels with the necessary learning tools as per the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD). Students can access these tools easily and freely, with up to 250MB of free data. Here is a short guide on how to make use of these education bundles.
How to Subscribe to Safaricom Education Bundles
With a Safaricom line, you can access the education bundles using the short codes *544# or *100#.
Option 1
- Go to your phone’s keypad and dial in *544#,
- Scroll down to option 7, which is ‘Education Bundle’ and choose it.
- The new window will come with three options. Choose 1,2, or 3, for Viusasa, Longhorn E-learning or Shupavu Web respectively.
Option 2
- Go to your phone keypad and dial *100#. This can also be a tablet or modem, as long as it uses a Safaricom line.
- Scroll down the options on the pop-up window to the last option ‘Buy’. It should be option 9. Select it.
- On the new window, choose the option ‘View more’ that is number 98.
- Now select option 7, ‘Education Bundle.’
- On the new window, choose either option depending on what you prefer. 1,2 or 3, for Viusasa, Longhorn E-learning or Shupavu Web.
Other Available Learning Resources on Safaricom
If you are a college student or lecturer, there are a few e-learning platforms and resources available at subsidized data costs. The only requirement is having a Safaricom line and some internet bundles. Through Safaricom’s Educational Data Pass Service, you can easily access the resources that can help you keep up to date with your schoolwork even during the lockdown.
Steps to follow to access the Educational Data Pass Service
- Go to your phone and dial *544*60#.
- On the popped up window, choose ‘purchase special education bundle’ option.
- The new window will require you to pay for the pass via Mpesa. If you have the money on your MPESA account, choose continue and enter your service pin.
- With a successful purchase, a confirmation message will immediately come to your phone. The message will not only acknowledge your data pass purchase, but it will also provide a link to follow to access the data bundles.
Bonus information
- The University Educational Data Pass Service provides you with 10GB worth of data.
- Both the E-learning and Educational Data Pass Service are strictly for accessing the white-listed educational platforms. This means that you cannot use the data for non-educational purposes such as downloading or streaming music, etc.
- If you decide to access non-educational platforms, Safaricom will deduct from your airtime, or normal data subscriptions.
- You cannot share the educational bundles to another user. You can however tether them so that you can use them on two or more devices simultaneously.
- To opt out of the educational bundles, dial *123#.
