A total of 219 Standard 4 learners at St. Therese Primary School in Machinga District have graduated from the Building Education through Innovation and Technology (BEFIT) programme as they advance to Standard 5.
Speaking during the graduation ceremony, BEFIT Programme Manager for Edukans Malawi, Patrick Maele, hailed the achievement as a significant milestone.
He noted with pride that female learners led the performance chart, occupying all top five positions.
“This is a great step forward in improving education outcomes, and we are particularly proud to see girls excelling. It speaks to the inclusivity and effectiveness of the BEFIT approach,” said Maele.
The BEFIT programme, a Government of Malawi-led initiative, aims to strengthen foundational literacy and numeracy among learners in Standards 1 to 4 in public primary schools.
It provides individualised, self-paced lessons delivered via a specialised Android tablet application.
Currently, Edukans Malawi is supporting the implementation of the programme in Machinga, Mangochi and Zomba districts.
In Machinga alone, BEFIT is in 29 primary schools across eight educational zones.
District Principal Education Officer for Machinga, Limbani Kawenda, emphasised the positive impact BEFIT has had, particularly on girls’ education.
“Before the programme, we experienced high dropout and absenteeism rates among girls in lower classes. With BEFIT, girls are now more motivated and engaged in learning,” he said.
One of the top-performing learners, Michelle Chatepa, who came first at St. Therese Primary School, praised the programme for its user-friendly learning tools.
“Using the tablet helped me concentrate and understand lessons more clearly. It made learning fun and easy,” said Michelle.
As BEFIT continues to expand across Malawi, education stakeholders hope the programme will improve learning, reduce dropout rates and improve academic performance, especially among vulnerable learners.
