LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Minister of Education Madalitso Kambauwa Wirima on Saturday, February 10, 2024 dared development partners to support innovations promotes digital learning for learners with various forms of disabilities.
Minister Wirima said government needs support from its partners to embrace innovations that can boost inclusive education particularly learners with special.
She made the remarks at Kasiya Primary School in Lilongwe during a close-out ceremony for the Unlocking Talent project.
The project which was introduced in Lilongwe in 2013 and was scaled up to other districts in 2019.
Wirima acknowledged that the event was not only a celebration of the successful completion of the initiative, but also a testament to the promise of a brighter and more inclusive future for children as a foundation for national development.
“The UT project is a demonstration of government’s commitment towards digitalisation of education system, particularly at the foundational level with the aim of accelerating the attainment of learning outcomes among learners in numeracy and literacy,” Wirima said.
Echoing the same, Traditional Authority (T.A) Khongoni disclosed that her area has a number of children with disabilities who need urgent support from development partners.
“My area has a number of children with disabilities who needs support from government and development partners for them attend classes as any other children,” urges Chief Khongoni.
Speaking during the ceremony, German Ambassador to Malawi, Ute Konig appreciated the diplomatic relationship Malawi has with Germany dating back to 60 years, especially the partnership in the education sector.
Konig said she is impressed with the achievements made through the project and expressed her government’s commitment to supporting inclusive education.
Following the close-out of the project, government which has already distributed 68,000 tablets to some schools across the country, aims to roll out the program to standard 1-4 learners in 6000 primary schools in the country by 2030, under the Building Education Foundation through Innovation and Technology program.
Since 2019, Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) in partnership with London-based organisation, One Billion, and ministry of education have been implementing the project with financial support from the German Government through KFW.
The project which reached out to 217,000 standard 1-2 learners in 338 centres in at least 15 districts in the country, focused on provision of digital education through solar powered tablets.
Igniting children’s potential in literacy and numeracy; the project will scale up the digital education to reach 3.5 million children by 2029 in order to discover, excel and transform learning through education technology.
Since its inception in 2013, the project has been implemented in collaboration with VSO Malawi in partnership with the Ministry of Education and 338 E-learning centers have been constructed in various primary schools across the country through Building Education Foundations Through Innovation and Technology (BEFIT) program.
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