Almost six million school-going children in Malawi were at home from 23 March 2020, to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. This had implications particularly for rural public schools not adequately prepared for remote learning. The closure had a greater impact on marginalized children; with disabilities, struggling learners, learners especially girls from hard-to-reach and poor communities.
But for learners like Praise Nyirenda, learning from home had its obstacles. Praise,12; a standard six learner at Likuni Boys Primary School, was already struggling in class before schools closed. Remote learning worsened the situation; his parents worried he might have to repeat the class.
Fount for Nations partnered with four fellow Segal Family Foundation Education partners; Jacaranda Foundation, Rays of Hope, Ladder to Learning and Centre for Youth and Development (CYD) to support learners in standards five to seven to ensure continuity of learning.
Using workbooks from Rays of Hope we deployed volunteers to conduct phone learning. Volunteers guided students through English and Maths. Praise’s mother made sure her phone was always on by the agreed time. She was also quick to follow up with the volunteer on lessons if she hadn’t received prior communication. This individualized attention gave Praise the boost he needed to catch up in these two subjects.
Before the closure of the school for the first term of the 2019/2020 academic year, Praise scored 30% in Mathematics and 25 % in English. When schools reopened five months later Praise scored 58% in Mathematics and 71% in English. A tremendous leap secured Praise’s progress to standard seven. Fount for Nations will continue to work with its partners to offer personalized remote learning support to1,408 learners like Praise to secure a brighter future.