Nearly all schools in Malawi don't have internet connectivity, and approximately half lack access to electricity, according to the School Connectivity Landscape Analysis Report.
The findings paint bleak prospects for the country’s goal to achieve 80% digital access by 2030.
The report, launched in Lilongwe, was compiled by the Ministry of Information and digitalisation in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the United Nations Children’s Fund.
Barriers to opportunity and impediments to national competitiveness are being created by these infrastructure gaps, says Bright Msaka, minister of Education, Science and Technology.
The study, covering 8 939 schools and over six million learners, disclosed that 85.8% of schools have no internet connectivity.
In addition, 46.9% lack access to electricity. Even where connectivity exists, it remains unreliable.
Every school that remains offline represents a learner left behind, says Shadric Namalomba, minister of ICT.
He raised concerns about poor energy access, noting that no school can be digitally transformed in darkness, as power is the primary infrastructure of digitalisation.
To address the crisis, Malawi is prioritising digital transformation in education through the Building Education Foundations through Innovation and Technology project.
The initiative is a flagship collaboration between the government, private sector and international partners.
The report highlights that the digital divide is particularly acute in primary schools compared to secondary institutions. Without urgent intervention in rural electrification and last-mile fibre connectivity, the 2030 targets remain out of reach, the report warns.
Malawi has previously sought to bolster its digital infrastructure through the World Bank-funded Digital Malawi Project, which aimed to extend the national fibre backbone.
However, the report suggests that school-level integration continues to lag behind national infrastructure milestones.
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