This year, CODE hopes to launch an exciting new project in Malawi that focuses on creating effective and joyful literacy learning environments in rural classrooms. Together with local communities and the Forum for African Women Educationalists Malawi (our partner), we aim to create classrooms that both students and teachers eagerly want to be a part of – classrooms that captivate and inspire, rather than discourage and disengage.
The project is urgently needed according to Katie Bryant, CODE’s Senior Program Manager based in Botswana. “Rural schools especially have been hard hit by the lack of educational resources. In these schools, you’ll find classrooms with broken furniture and children sitting on the floor. There aren’t enough blackboards, and the walls of the classrooms are often bare. It’s not unusual for a class of 100 students to have to share just four textbooks.”
But perhaps the most urgent need of all is for additional teachers and for teacher support.
“There’s an extreme teacher shortage in Malawi right now,” says Katie. “In many schools, there’s just one teacher for every 100 students. The national target is to bring that down to one teacher for every 60 students.”
Given the exceptionally challenging conditions, it’s not surprising that an estimated 87 percent of 10-year-old children are unable to read. While free primary education has led to 88 percent net enrolment in primary school, the completion rate is just 33 percent.
“There’s currently a huge decrease in school enrolment for children in Standards 3 and 4 (corresponding to Grades 3 and 4 in Canada) with half of all students reportedly disappearing from the education system,” shares Katie. This is where CODE and FAWEMA feel we have the greatest opportunity for cost-effective impact and to complement national-scale programming being undertaken by USAID focused on Standards 1 and 2.
The challenges faced by teachers and students are many and complex meaning that we need to take an adaptive and holistic approach, embedding the project within a broader understanding of teaching and learning ecosystems, including schools, communities and the education system.
“Listening is crucial when it comes to designing and implementing a project well,” says Katie. Consultation and collaboration with teachers, students and the community are presently ongoing. We hope to secure some early commitments for this important new initiative over the coming months and to be positioned to launch with confidence in the fall to coincide with the 2025-2026 academic year.