Built in Kenya, for Kenya · Mwalimu wa kila mwanafunzi (A teacher for every learner)
Athena Learn is a Kenyan-built AI tutor for Junior Secondary classrooms. Installed from a USB drive. Works offline. Free for public schools, supported by partners and grants.
The problem
1:60
Pupil-teacher ratios in rural sub-counties like Cherangany often run well above the national averages of 1:38 for primary and 1:31 for secondary. Individual attention becomes mathematically impossible.
Source: Ministry of Education, Basic Education Statistical Booklet 2022/23 (sub-county tables).
~30%
Most rural public schools depend on USB drives and printed handouts. Connectivity, where it exists, is unreliable and expensive.
Source: Communications Authority of Kenya, Q4 2023/24 sector statistics.
2028
Earliest expected date for the reformed senior-school assessment. The competency-based curriculum requires resources schools don't yet have, today.
Source: KICD CBC implementation framework; date subject to ongoing reforms.
What it does
Worked solutions, adaptive practice, and step-by-step hints in English and Kiswahili. Aligned to the CBC Grade 7–9 scheme of work.
Numbers · Algebra · Measurements · Geometry · Statistics
Biology, chemistry, physics, and earth science taught through interactive lessons and virtual experiments that need no equipment.
Living Things · Matter · Force & Energy · Earth · Health
Comprehension, composition, and grammar with passages drawn from Kenyan authors and classroom-appropriate context.
Reading · Writing · Listening · Speaking · Grammar
Foundations of pre-technical and pre-career education — basic tools, safety, drawing, and the practical thinking JSS rewards.
Tools · Drawing · Production · Career
Note
Currently four learning areas. More to come.
CBC at JSS level covers many more learning areas than the four we launch with. On the roadmap, in order of how often teachers ask for them: Computer Studies, Social Studies, CRE / IRE, Agriculture, Business Studies, Home Science, Creative Arts. If your school needs one we haven't built yet, say so on the application form.
How it works
Athena trains one teacher at the school — the install champion. They install the app on each classroom laptop or Chromebook in under fifteen minutes per device, from a USB drive. A printed quick-start card and a phone hotline back them up. No accounts, no internet, no cloud — the install is the deployment.
Each learner gets a private tutor that asks, explains, and re-explains. The tutor speaks both English and Kiswahili, remembers what each student has covered, and never gets tired of the same question.
A teacher dashboard shows who is struggling on which strand, what topics the class as a whole has mastered, and which students are ready for more challenge — all on the same laptop, without anyone uploading data anywhere.
Pilot partners
We're hand-selecting three Junior Secondary schools for the founding pilot, beginning September 2026. Two slots remain.
Confirmed
Cherangany Sub-county · Trans Nzoia
Onboarding partner: Teacher Isaac Toili, who is leading the school's introduction to Athena Learn and will work with the headteacher and the Grade 7–9 staff through the pilot year.
Open slot
Open slot
Apply
We're selecting three schools for a one-year pilot beginning September 2026. Two slots remain. The form takes about three minutes.