By Glory Msowoya
Blantyre, July 26, Mana: Stakeholders in the education sector have added their voices on the need for mobile operators in the country to reduce cost of internet bundles in the country.
Malawi College of Distance education (MCDE) and Private Universities of Malawi on Friday stressed the need for government to intervene on the matter if E-learning to bear fruits in the country.
Chairperson for Private Universities of Malawi (APUMA) who is also Vice Chancellor for Catholic Universities of Malawi, Dr Fr George Buleya asked government to advocate for discounted internet accessibility in the country.
“There is a dire need to have government leadership to engage with the major network providers to give University faculty and students on bandwidth and data bundles.
“We realize that the current charge most of our students can’t access and afford these digital platforms and this stands a frustration in a much touted online learning,’ he said
Acting Deputy Director for Malawi College of Distance Education MCDE, Henry Gwede said living in a world of technology there was need for internet bundles to be affordable.
He said that the institution once tried posting some materials on internet but they were hardly accessed by learners due to high cost of internet bundles
“For us to move on with technology there is need for better equipment’s and availability of affordable internet bundle.
“We noticed that most learners find it difficult to access some learning materials online due to the cost of data bundles so with this Covid-19 and E-learning will not yield anything if these data cost remains the same,” Gwede noted.
Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Agnes Nyalonje reaffirmed the commitment in finding solutions on the matter
“Government will do everything possible to make sure that students are progressing very well in their E-learning without any hurdles,” she said.
