The National Information and Communications Technology Policy requires the Ministry of Education to ensure every learner receives quality ICT lessons.
This is part of Malawi’s strategy to ensure everyone embraces ICT as mushrooming digital technologies shrink the world into a global village.
Universal access to ICT is also central to the Malawi 2063 socio-economic vision to transform the country into a self-reliant, upper middle-income economy by 2063.
However, the push to embed ICT into basic education in a fast-moving digital economy still falls short.
Last year, the Ministry of Education reported that only two percent of public primary schools offer ICT lessons due to low investment.
This deprives thousands of learners of the essential digital literacy.
According to the ministerial report, only 172 of the country’s 5 919 public primary schools were teaching ICT by December 2024.
Phalombe, with 21 schools offering ICT lessons, was the leading district in the desired leap towards ensuring every child gets a solid start in the digital world.
Karonga were the runners-up with 16 ICT-savvy schools and Blantyre City came third with 15 primary schools teaching ICT.
Chitipa, Likoma, Mwanza, Nkhata Bay, Ntchisi, Rumphi, Thyolo and Zomba Urban perched the lowest with no single public primary school providing ICT lessons.
Slightly perching above the have-nots is Nsanje, with only one school teaching ICT.
Education expert Limbani Nsapato says it is sad that ICT lessons in public primary schools remain scanty despite the government policy that promotes universal access to ICT lessons.
“Globally, issues of ICT and artificial intelligence are taking centre stage. So, the limited access to ICT lessons would be a big challenge for our country, especially for our schools, to promote the government’s policy and align with global demands for enhancing education technology,” he said.
Nsapato urges the Ministry of Education to lobby for resources to expand access to ICT lessons in all public schools.
“This entails provision of ICT infrastructure such as computers, tablets and laptops. It also requires the schools have access to data services,” he says.
Nsapato also urged government to train teachers how to deliver ICT lessons.
To Civil Society Education Coalition executive director Benedicto Kondowe, the lack of ICT lessons in public schools has serious implications for learners in the digital era.
He says learners without early exposure to ICT are likely to miss out on foundational digital literacy skills.
Kondowe fears this would limit the pupils’ ability to navigate secondary and tertiary education where technology is increasingly part of learning.
He says: “The situation further widens socioeconomic inequalities, as children from wealthier backgrounds who attend private schools or have ICT access at home gain a significant advantage over those in public schools.
“Moreover, the absence of ICT education restricts career choices, preventing learners from developing an interest in fields such as software development, data science and engineering”.
Kondowe says the gap leaves a generation of learners unprepared for the rigours of the digital world, deepening inequality and limiting national progress.
However, Ministry of Education spokesperson Mphatso Nkuonera says various projects are underway to expand ICT access in public primary schools. The initiatives to bridge the ICT gap include Connect a School, School Connectivity Landscape Mapping and Analysis, Energy for Education, Virtual Science Laboratories and the Building Education Foundation Through Innovation Technology.
Nkuonera states: “To-date, government has rolled out tablet-enabled learning in 681 public primary schools in 34 education districts, reaching over 350 000 learners.
“The ministry has distributed more than 130 000 tablets, headsets and related accessories. Government expects all public primary schools to be equipped with tablet-enabled learning infrastructure and programmes by 2029.”
