Support to Offline Library Services.

Many educational endeavors are constrained by a persistent lack of access to information and tools for disseminating new ideas. Improved access to educational information is required and more local educators need to be engaged in information creation and dissemination. Building state of the art learning classrooms should be done congruently with the offering of information learning resources in order to improve performance in secondary schools.  Plan International Malawi (PIM) proposes to support 8 Community Day Secondary Schools (CDSSs) through the development of information access systems that empowers communities to identify, cache, and deliver critical educational resources such as off-line libraries with over 34 million resources.

School name

Enrolment

Boys

Girls

Total

Emvuyeni

267

243

510

Emusizini

255

241

496

Kanjaluni

260

239

499

Mathandani

256

224

480

Mpando

240

235

475

Njewa

230

219

449

Khwalala

265

259

524

Milonga

232

190

422

Total

2,012

1,860

3,872

Malawi introduced free primary education in 1994. This resulted in huge enrolment at the primary level, and subsequently created increased demand for the provision of Secondary education. This led to the establishment of CDSSs. But the quality of education provided remains very poor. The reason is such schools are poorly equipped in terms of teaching and learning materials including text books as there are no libraries. Therefore, the quality of secondary education in CDSSs, which are the principal providers of secondary education to disadvantaged rural communities is very poor. This is compounded by serious inequities in the allocation of resources i.e. while spending is US$40 per student in conventional Secondary Schools, at CDSS it is about US$20 per student.

Therefore, the specific problem to be solved by this Action is lack of libraries and books in the 8 target schools which forces teachers to be writing all the notes on the chalk board. 

PIM has attempted to improve the learning environment and accommodation for girls through construction of classroom blocks and girls hostels in the 8 target schools. This is an opportunity for the proposed Action because the target schools already have electricity that will power the computer labs. 

The proposed solution will involve the use of computers and a server in each target school. The computer and the server will be connected to a Local Area Network. The server will host the off line library resources which will be shared by the users. The regular update to the servers will be done by either offline using portable data storage devices or by connecting broadband wireless routers once in a while to ensure that resources are updated. It is expected that 10 personal computers and one server will be installed at each of the target school which will host the library resources.      

The outcome  will be provision of resources at par with well-resourced institutions. In addition, this will assist in bridging the digital divide between students in the rural areas of Malawi and those in well-resourced Government Secondary Schools thereby removing the inequality challenge that exists in terms of education opportunities between students in urban areas and those poor students from the rural communities.

Since 68% of secondary schools in Malawi are poorly resourced, the offline library resources will improve quality learning outcomes by providing resources which are otherwise not available to students due to financial constraints.

The proposed solution will serve a total 3,872 students (2012 boys and 1860 girls) and 80 teachers (50 males and 30 females in eight (8) CDSSs. The students will benefit because the Solution will facilitate the collection of countless text books for students to read. The solution is alternative option for traditional libraries which is has been very expensive to establish and maintain.  The solution will offer training to all the teachers and students in each of the target schools in digital information literacy skills and use of local digital educational resource materials. 

The provision of offline libraries to the most vulnerable girls and boys will enhance acquisition of diverse skills and knowledge beyond what is prescribed by the national curriculum. The access to library resources will also improve the students performance. Due to this Challenge the teaching process will also be eased off as the teachers in the selected 8 schools will refer the students to library where learners will engage in exploratory on their own.

This is not the first time Plan international Malawi is implementing this kind of project. Previously, Plan has implemented a similar project under the School Linking project but in semi urban area and the results were good. Our intention now is to focus on very remote schools where the needs are so many and we believe this will make even a bigger difference.  

Full Time

Foster Mkandawire

Eldridge Mwangonde

Christopher Katutu

Dan Kapatuka

Billy Mukwikwi

Chakufwa Munthali

Jimmy Banda

Tamanda Kantchewa

PIM has got highly experienced staff cadres in different fields. But critical to this Solution are two individuals: Foster and Eldridge: Foster is the Education Manager and has got a 15 years experience in design and implementation of of education projects in Malawi. He has developed very strong relationships with the Ministry of Education and other players in Education. He is the one of who designed the UK funded School Linking Project which was the most successful project in Malawi.  Foster is good at reporting and disseminating best practices. On the other hand, Eldridge is very experienced in designing implementing high tech solutions ICT for Development initiatives. He has been very crucial in the design of this solution and we believe he will be very cardinal in the implementation of this proposed solution. I addition, PIM had got 4 experienced project officers in the field who will be responsible for daily operations of the libraries apart from the school computer librarians.    

To begin with Plan International Malawi (PIM) is hinged on four values that guide our program design and implementation and these are: we work well together, open and accountable, striving for lasting impact and inclusive and empowering. The values entail that PIM is  does not discriminate against any one against the different characteristics such as race, sex, disability and religion. Plan has got a gender equality which propagates the involvement of both women and men, girls nd boys in the programming. Learners with disabilities are part of the implementation and in this project, the learners with disabilities will be encouraged to participate. PIM will ensure that Malawi Government through Ministry of Education are consulted on policy direction. Being primary beneficiaries, the students will be consulted on the types of books to be uploaded onto their computers.