Technology as a Catalyst: Kennedy’s Story of Transforming Education in Malawi

Kennedy, an IT and life skills teacher in Karonga, Malawi, is clear about the difference Xulendo has made at his school. “I dream of everyone in Malawi having access to the internet”, he says, “Xulendo inspires me, it gives me hope”.

Kennedy hasn’t always worked in teaching. Although it has always interested him, he was first drawn towards a career in ICT. He might not have had access to computers at school but he was fascinated by tinkering with an old one he had at home and was drawn to the practicalities of the industry: “It seemed like something that could actually be used to solve problems”, he points out, “I always felt there was much more that could be solved with computers”.

Growing up in Blantyre in the south of Malawi, he attended school and college there, before leaving his university in 2015. Three years later, after enjoying teaching at church, he pivoted his career and recently arrived at his school in Karonga which is part of Next Generation Africa’s Xulendo programme.

He is clear on the biggest challenges in his town and the country as a whole, lamenting the fact that many families are unable to send their children to school. Those who can are often priced out of necessary learning resources. “A lot of kids end up just staying on the streets”, Kennedy sighs.

When programmes such as Xulendo are implemented though, he is clear-eyed on the benefits. Even though the school has more than 500 students, there are 50 PCs for pupils to use and schedules are carefully arranged so that they all have access to the internet and the resources that they need.

There are obvious benefits of computers like research, more engaging teaching materials, and more resources. More than that though, Kennedy extols the virtues of Xulendo’s tailored approach. “It (Xulendo) is tailored specifically to our curriculum”, he says, “students are learning things relevant to them”. The difference compared to last year, when the slow and unreliable internet was only available to teachers, is stark. “Now students can come into the library and research things … maybe even print off some documents”, says Kennedy.

As well as helping teach other subjects more effectively, the 50 PCs allow Kennedy to teach ICT as its own subject. He implores the students not to “look at the subject as one to pass in examinations, (but one) as a tool to use”.

Despite the success of the programme in his school, Kennedy is still wary of how much more Malawi’s digital infrastructure needs to grow. He points out that “there are villages where people don’t even know what a computer is” and suggests that the gender gap in IT is partly because “many women only touch a computer for the first time at 24. It needs to be much much earlier”, he concludes.

There is clearly a long way to go before everyone in Malawi has the internet access they need but Kennedy and his school in Karanga show just how much of a difference it can make.