Lilongwe, February 18: Deputy Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Vincent Ghambi says the cordial relation with the United Kingdom (UK) towards the promotion of education in the country will work perfectly towards the overall goal of National Education Sector Plan.
Ghambi made the sentiment on Wednesday in Lilongwe at the launch of the third phase of connecting class rooms which will run from 2015-2018.
He said the launch of this phase of Connecting Classrooms coincides with the introduction of the new curriculum in secondary schools this school year
The deputy minister said, “I welcome the British Council’s decision to focus the next three years of the Connecting Classrooms programme on working with secondary school sector.
I believe it will make a valuable contribution to two priority policy goals of improving quality and equity in the secondary schooling and improving management of secondary schools.
“Connecting Classrooms will support teachers to introduce young people to new ways of working, new ways of thinking, and new ways of living in a global world. It does this by providing opportunities for education professionals and policy makers to contribute to education discourse in national, regional and global forums, supporting system development and through the provision of continuous professional development opportunities for teachers and school leaders.”
He further added that the launch of Connecting Classrooms in partnership with the UK will support the programme’s intention of developing the core skills of our young people in Malawi by enabling them to engage critically with the world around them and to get the best from their education for the long term mutual benefit of Malawi and the UK.
In his remarks, Secretary of State for Scotland, Right Honourable David Mundell, said the new phase of Connecting Classrooms is designed to help young people develop the knowledge, skills and values to live and work in a globalised economy and make a positive contribution locally and globally.
He said the programme, running from 2015-2018 will build capacity of 45,000 teachers and 12,000 school leaders’ worldwide, support them integrate a range of core skills into the curriculum with an estimation of over 5 million people benefiting from classrooms around the world.
“British Council, through its programme in Malawi aims to create ‘ a basis of friendly knowledge and understanding’ of the UK by making a major contribution to the people and the institutions with who we work, creating opportunities, building connections and engaging trust,” he said.
Mundell also said the Malawi connecting Classrooms has to-date reached over 320,000 learners in primary and secondary schools across the country. Out of the 1000 teachers and school leaders who have received Continuous Professional Development opportunities in Malawi, 42 percent were female.
He added, “this support is part of our assistance to help Malawi become more self-sufficient, providing the building blocks for an educated nation that will transform the country.”
25,000 schools worldwide are connected through the British Council’s ‘schools online’ portal.