Malawi enrolls 50 % in ODeL programmes in two years
Deputy Minister of Education, Nancy Chaola Mdooko, has disclosed that Malawi increased enrolment in Open Distance and e-Learning (ODeL) programmes by 50 per cent at her universities in the past two years, surpassing the 2025 target.
Mdooko made the remarks during the opening of a three-day 58th Distance Education Association for Southern Africa (DEASA) meeting, currently underway in Lilongwe.
She said the ministry is expanding lifelong learning through universities, TEVET and Malawi College of Distance Education (MCDE).
“MCDE is our center of excellence in ODeL training recognized by many in the region and beyond”.
According to her, MCDE started way back and has served many Malawians by facilitating their secondary schooling and life-long learning, including people of high repute.
Mdooko added that Malawi benefited from a Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) ODeL project about 14 years ago which, among other things, enhanced the capacity of MCDE.
She, therefore, encouraged the DEASA family and SADC as a whole to come up with a successor regional ODeL programme that can accelerate the adoption of new technologies to achieve better educational outcomes at national and regional level in line with Africa Agenda 2063 and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), particularly Goal number 4.
DEASA representative, Ruth Olukuwam, concurred with Mdooko, adding there is the need for countries to align their education curriculums to regional standards.
“We need to look locally as well. We should start with local context which has great importance then we go globally, because we need to prepare our children for the future,” she said.
DEASA has a general objective of enabling members to share information, collaborate in obtaining and developing quality education courses and programmes identified in areas of need as well as organizing relevant professional development activities.
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