The introduction of e-libraries in secondary school has been hailed for fostering a continuous learning and reading culture among both teachers and learners.
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Teachers and students at Msalura Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) in Salima made the sentiments on Saturday during a psychosocial support training, which Marist Brothers in Malawi organized with financial support from an Irish charity organization – Mission Support from Ireland (Misean Cara).
The religious congregation in the Roman Catholic Church is implementing the Girls Empowerment Project in seven secondary schools.
Others are Likuni Boys Secondary school in Lilongwe, Champagnat Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) and Marist Secondary School in Dedza, St. Charles Lwanga Secondary School in Balaka, Zomba Catholic and Mayaka Community Day Secondary Schools in Zomba and Mafco CDSSs in Salima.
Under the project, the Marist Brothers distributed electronic library devices as part of their efforts to promote access and quality education in under-resourced schools.
During a students’ debate on Saturday, Chisomo Phiri, disclosed that use of smartphones has eased the challenge students used to face to access learning materials for their studies, in addition to the applications that assist them with their assignments or homework.
Chisomo added that e-libraries are also cost-effective, time and space-saving while giving teachers and learners the ability to search and retrieve information quickly and efficiently.
Chisomo added that students have also cut costs on travel to the library whenever they want to study, as they no longer have to physically go to a library to access a book.
“Smartphones have enabled us to access any material at any time. Unlike in the past where we used to incur costs on travel expenses to and from the physical library, we now simply log in and search for the material being needed thereby saving more time for study,” said Chisomo who was the chief proposer during the debate.
Msalura CDSS head teacher, Shariff Phiri, said the introduction of e-learning has brought tremendous benefits to both students and teachers at the school.
Among the students, Phiri – not related to Chisomo – said e-books have transformed student reading habits and improved proficiency across a wide range of students.
“We are very grateful to Marist Brothers in Malawi for introducing this great initiative at our school. I wish to challenge the students to take advantage of this technology to improve performance in their studies,” he said.
National Provincial Councilor for the Marist Brothers in Malawi, Brother Francis Jumbe, built e-libraries as one way of complementing efforts by the Malawi Government to address barriers that learners from under-resourced schools face to access education.
Jumbe pledged his institution’s commitment to providing innovative solutions to addressing challenges that underprivileged children face in their pursuit for quality education.
Meanwhile, the National Provincial Councillor has expressed satisfaction with the improvement in English speaking and performance in academic work by the project’s beneficiary students.
