AfDB, Malawi in new education partnership

GOVERNMENT

The African Development Bank and the Government of Malawi have officially launched the UA 29.45 million Malawi Higher Education, Science and Technology (HEST) Project in Ntchisi, Malawi, in December.

The Bank has provided an ADF loan of UA 9.05 million and a grant of UA 10 million plus an additional loan of UA 6.5 million from the Nigerian Trust Fund, while the Government of Malawi is to provide UA 2.95 million in counterpart funding.

At the same ceremony, the Bank also handed over the UA 15 million Education V Project that was successfully implemented in Malawi from 2007, ending on December 31, 2012.

In his launch statement, Deputy Minister of Education Chikumbutso Hiwa thanked the Bank for providing financial and technical support to the Government of Malawi through the project, and looked forward to continued cooperation between the Bank and Malawi in the Education sector. He recognized the Bank’s particular interest in human capital development in the country, which is essential for sustained economic growth and development. The Bank’s Regional Director South B, Chiji Ojukwu, said that the Malawi HEST Project is in line with the Bank’s Long Term Strategy and Human Capital Development strategy that recognize the need for ensuring inclusive and green growth. He further called upon project implementing staff to ensure effective implementation and timely delivery of the project objectives.

The HEST project aims to increase access to technical, entrepreneurship, vocational and training (TEVET) and higher education in Malawi, with particular emphasis on information and communications technology (ICT). Under this project, the Bank will support the Government of Malawi in the development of teaching and learning infrastructure in institutions of higher learning and technical colleges in Malawi.

Speaking earlier at the same function, the Bank’s Resident Representative to Malawi, Andrew Mwaba, thanked the Government for a successful implementation and timely completion of the Bank-supported Education V Project. The Education V Project has constructed and rehabilitated 18 community day secondary schools (CDSS), supplied 330,000 textbooks and trained over 700 school administration staff and science teachers in Malawi.