Malawi's game-changing commitment to school internet

By Mthulisi Sibanda, Contributor
Johannesburg, 22 Jan 2026
Dr Shadric Namalomba, minister of information and communications technology.
Dr Shadric Namalomba, minister of information and communications technology.

Malawi is stepping up its flagship plan to ensure access to information and communication technology (ICTs) in public schools.

This is part of the Connect a School Project's second phase, which the government launched with the goal of connecting at least 120 schools by July of this year.

On Tuesday, Dr. Shadric Namalomba, minister of information and communications technology, assessed the project's progress.

Addressing the media, he said that over 75 ICT laboratories had been established across the country since the inception in 2025.

Eleven schools benefit in the Northern zone, 35 in the Central region, and 29 in the Southern region. The eventual goal is to connect around 2,000 schools, the majority of which are located in rural areas.

“The government will continue introducing innovative learning approaches for primary and secondary school learners as Malawi advances towards the 2030 development agenda,” Namalomba assured.

The agenda is a long-term plan to turn Southern Africa into an inclusively prosperous, self-sufficient, and industrialised upper-middle-income nation by 2030.

Connectivity is a critical component of those aspirations. The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) is executing the project through the Universal Service Fund.

MACRA provides free internet connectivity to each school for a period of three years.

The Wi-Fi radius extends up to 100 meters outside the school, enabling residents to access digital services after hours.

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