‘We are ungrateful to special needs learners’

BY ALICK PONJE:

The British Council and stakeholders in the education sector on last week reflected on the achievements of the three-year Connecting Classrooms Programme, with stakeholders lauding it for promoting digital literacy among teachers and learners in secondary schools.

Connecting Classrooms is the United Kingdom’s global education programme for schools. It is led by the British Council and funded in partnership with the Department for International Development (DfID) with the intention of contributing to increased learning outcomes.

Director of the British Council in Malawi, Reena Johl, said in an interview that the just-ended phase of the project in Malawi was as a success based on feedback from teachers and school leaders.

“The impact is evident, based on what has been shared by some of these teachers at today’s event and the creativity and innovation illustrated by the examples of different lessons shared. In addition, we have been supporting the implementation of the 2017 National Inclusive Education Strategy in a small way by the introduction of the inclusive pedagogies module, which supports one of the priority areas of the strategy Teacher Education and Motivation,” Johl said.

Ministry of Education Chief Education Officer (Secondary Education), Samuel Chibwana, said the programme played a crucial role in the implementation of the new curriculum, which focuses on enhancing and entrenching digital literacy, creativity and imagination, critical thinking and problem solving among teachers and learners in secondary schools.

Chibwana said the ministry has since started installing solar power systems in rural schools to ensure that they, too, benefit from the programme since its implementation largely depends on availability of power.

One of the beneficiary teachers from Katoto Secondary School, Augustine Mlowoka, said the programme has helped him incorporate digital skills to prepare lessons using ICT-based technologies.

Meanwhile, DfID Interim Country Director, Chris Austin, has said the next phase of the programme will roll out from September this year.