Govt, CEE drive digital skills revolution as 3,600 learners master coding

The Malawi Government and Computers for Enhanced Education (CEE) have reaffirmed their commitment to building a digitally skilled workforce, celebrating the successful rollout of a nationwide Code Club Project that has equipped more than 3,600 secondary school learners with practical coding and digital-making skills.

Speaking at the Code Club Project Showcase and Awards Ceremony in Lilongwe on Wednesday, CEE chief executive officer Sylvester Mtumbuka said the initiative has demonstrated that Malawian children can become creators of technology rather than merely consumers.

Mtumbuka said the project, implemented over the past year with support from the Raspberry Pi Foundation of the United Kingdom, was designed to bridge the country’s digital skills gap by providing young people with opportunities to learn programming, web development, artificial intelligence and other digital competencies through after-school coding clubs.

“Technology is transforming every aspect of our lives. Artificial Intelligence, robotics, data science and software development are redefining the global economy. Countries that invest in digital skills today will be the ones that prosper tomorrow,” he said.

He observed that many young Africans continue to be excluded from opportunities created by the digital economy because of limited access to quality digital education.

“Our belief has always been that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. A learner in Mzimba, Ntcheu or Nsanje deserves the same opportunity to learn coding as a learner anywhere else in the world,” Mtumbuka said.

He said the programme has established 90 active Code Clubs in secondary schools across Malawi, trained 90 ICT teachers to lead the clubs and reached more than 3,600 learners, equipping them with practical programming and digital-making skills.

According to Mtumbuka, the project’s success extends beyond the numbers, with monitoring and evaluation showing that participating learners have become more confident, developed stronger programming abilities and improved critical life skills such as teamwork, creativity, communication and problem-solving.

“We have seen young people who once believed technology was only for experts begin creating their own computer games. We have watched students confidently solve programming challenges, collaborate with their peers and present digital projects before their teachers and communities,” he said.

He acknowledged challenges encountered during implementation, including limited time for Code Club sessions in schools operating double-shift systems and slower uptake of advanced technologies such as Python, web development and artificial intelligence because they require greater teacher capacity.

However, he said the project had been deliberately designed for sustainability by equipping teachers with the knowledge, resources and educator accounts needed to continue running Code Clubs independently after donor support ends.

Guest of Honour, Minister of Information and Digitalisation Shadreck Namalomba, said the initiative complements the Government’s digital transformation agenda under Malawi 2063, which seeks to build an inclusive, self-reliant and technology-driven economy.

“Digitalisation is no longer a luxury. It is no longer an optional extra. It is the foundation upon which modern economies are built,” Namalomba said.

He said Malawi must go beyond producing citizens who simply use technology and instead nurture innovators capable of creating digital solutions to local challenges.

“If Malawi is to realise the aspirations of Malawi 2063, we must produce not only citizens who can use technology, but innovators who can create it, improve it and use it to solve local challenges. That journey begins in our classrooms,” he said.

Namalomba described the Code Club Project as a practical example of how partnerships between government, development partners and civil society can accelerate digital transformation.

“The work that Computers for Enhanced Education is doing perfectly complements the Government’s vision. Through this programme, learners are acquiring computational thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication and problem-solving skills—the very competencies required in the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” he said.

The minister commended the programme’s achievements, saying the establishment of 90 Code Clubs and the training of 90 ICT teachers within just one year represented a major investment in Malawi’s future workforce.

“These are not just impressive statistics. They represent thousands of young minds whose futures have been transformed through access to digital education,” he said.

He also praised the project’s sustainability model, saying empowering teachers to continue running the clubs would ensure lasting national impact.

Addressing learners, Namalomba urged them to continue embracing innovation.

“Whether or not you receive an award today, you are already winners because you have acquired skills that will remain with you for life. Continue asking questions. Continue experimenting. Continue creating,” he said.

Both CEE and the Government said the partnership demonstrates how sustained investment in digital education can help produce the software developers, engineers, entrepreneurs and technology innovators needed to drive Malawi’s industrialisation agenda and realise the aspirations of Malawi 2063.

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