Education minister appeals for climate financing

Minister of Education Madalitso Wirima Kambauwa, has appealed for Sustainable Climate Financing in the Country’s education sector for a quick recovery from the aftermaths of Cyclone Freddy.

Wirima made these remarks during a Climate Smart Education Systems for a Sustainable Future event, at the ongoing Cop 28 conference in Dubai,United Arab Emirates.

Addressing the gathering, Wirima said Malawi currently needs $300million per year in the next 5 years, for the education sector to recover and provide the minimum standards of education in Malawi, to fully recover from the effects of Cyclone Freddy in which hundreds of thousands of people were displaced, some injured and over 1000 died, including learners and teachers and 633 education institutions suffered loss and damage,” the minister explained.

She said, during this period Malawi experienced several challenges, citing that several schools were turned into camps for internally displaced people, accommodating the affected population and that teaching and learning was also suspended.

She said in response to this adversity, President Dr Lazarus Chakwera’s led administration is championing a National Disaster Recovery Plan, which emphasizes on building resilience focusing on human capital development and encourages investment in the education sector.

She added, “government, through the Ministry of Education, has been proactive in pursuing the climate change disaster recovery and resilience plan, by among others embarking on a Climate Smart Education Program with support from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), and technical support from UNESCO and Save the Children.”

She stated that the Climate Smart Education program will contribute significantly towards accelerated learning, learning loss recovery, increased access, and continuity of learning even during disasters.

In conclusion, the Minister urged developmental partners to join forces with the government of Malawi in scaling up the use of tablets across the country, to improve learning outcomes and increase retention in a program called Building Education Foundations through Innovation and Technology (BEFIT).

The minister was supported by the Global Partnerships for Education (GPE) from Washington DC to participate in the CoP28 currently underway in Dubai.