Speaking Monday, during the opening of a day-long training for 58 teachers from 29 schools in Traditional Authority Kachindamoto in Dezda, SWET Project Officer, Innocent Kasache, said the aim of orientating teachers was for them to learn how to capture the attention of learners, especially girls, who are already in school.
He said the training would help instill skills and techniques on how to deliver lessons using edutainment (Education Entertainment) as a way of enticing learners to stay in school.
“We conducted a survey that revealed that most learners don’t feel inspired to stay in school. So, we came up with the ‘Kankha, Maphunziro Tsogolo Labwino multimedia campaign’,” said Kasache.
According to Kasache, ‘Kankha, Maphunziro Tsogolo Labwino multimedia campaign’ is a tool where special interventions and activities are developed to equip learners with interpersonal and critical thinking skills and self-awareness to unlock their hidden talents and open their eyes to see the value of education.
Apart from training teachers, Kasache said SWET is also working with youth clubs in Dedza to reach out to school dropouts and link them to alternative learning pathways where they are taught various businesses and encouraged to return to school.
“We know educating a girl child is the work of the entire community, so, we are also working with communities surrounding the schools to eradicate challenges the adolescent girl face that lead to unwanted pregnancies and early marriages,” he added.
In his remarks, Chokololere Education Zone Primary Education Advisor (PEA), Isaac Kulongwe, hailed SWET for organizing the training, saying it would change the landscape of education in the district by reducing school dropout and improving the pass rate of learners.
“This is a great intervention that will benefit both the teachers and learners in the area and promote quality education,” said Kulongwe.
He, therefore, urged the teachers to use the knowledge and skills they had acquired to promote education among learners in their respective schools by improving the learning outcomes of students.
Head Teacher for Chokololere Primary School, Bridget Mseteka, said she observed that many learners find it difficult to grasp lessons when presented with facts only.
“However, using these games and tricks that we have learned here, we will be able to impart them with knowledge in a way that they will understand,” she said.
Among others, the teachers were oriented on the Sara Communication Initiative (SCI) which is a UNICEF-established intervention that uses comic books to educate and entertain adolescents.
Another tool is the HOPE toolkit which is a set of resources that help learners to understand life skills better.
The Kankha Campaign is part of the United Nations Joint Programme on Girls Education (UNJPE) and is being implemented in 118 schools across four districts of Mangochi, Salima, Kasungu, and Dedza with funding from UNICEF.