Govt wants to turn schools into ICT centres
Minister of Information and Digitisation Moses Kunkuyu has said government is on course to equip 7 962 public schools with information and communications technology (ICT) under the Connect a School Project.
Presenting a ministerial statement in Parliament on the project, he said government, through the Connect a School Project, will put in place computer laboratories in schools for learners to access ICT services.
He said the project will be implemented over five years, with the first phase targeting about 1 200 schools.
Said Kunkuyu: “The Ministry of Education will connect 790 schools per year for a period of five years. The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority [Macra] will connect 250 secondary schools by 2026, while the Ministry of Information through World Bank’s Digital Malawi Project targets 160 schools by 2025.
“The overall goal of the Connect a School Project is to expand ICT access and use by students as well local communities, including young people, the disadvantaged and vulnerable groups such as women and girls, older persons and those with disabilities.”
He said procurement of the ICT equipment has already started and the Ministry of Education is expected to identify the schools that will benefit.
According to the minister, government will construct computer labs in schools that do not have infrastructure to house the equipment, and renovate existing infrastructure to modern standards before providing 20 computers, a printer, a scanner and Internet connectivity.
However, Kunkuyu did not state the cost of the project, although government had earlier estimated the cost of each ICT lab at about K25 million.
Reacting to the statement, Chiradzulu West legislator Mathews Ngwale said the shift from constituency telecentres to schools is good as it will ensure ownership, adding that equipment for the community telecentres was getting wasted.
In an interview, Civil Society Education Coalition executive director Benedicto Kondowe warned against politicisation of the project.
“Politicisation of projects has been a big challenge in implementation of projects. So every deserving school should be considered,” he said.
