CRECCOM Board of Trustees Tours Chikamveka Primary School to Appreciate BEFIT Program Impact

CRECCOM Board Chairperson, Justice Jean Rosemary Kayira, observes a BEFIT tablet-enabled learning session at Chikamveka Primary School

The Board of Trustees for the Creative Centre for Community Mobilisation (CRECCOM) recently conducted a monitoring visit to Chikamveka Primary School in Zomba Urban to appreciate the implementation of the Building Education Foundations through Innovation and Technology (BEFIT) program. The visit offered firsthand insight into how tablet-enabled learning is enhancing foundational literacy and numeracy among learners.

Led by Board Chairperson Justice Jean Rosemary Kayira, the Board witnessed students actively engaged in digital lessons using BEFIT tablets, with learners confidently navigating self-paced exercises and demonstrating improved reading and calculation skills.

"It is truly encouraging to see how the BEFIT program is transforming the learning environment for our young learners," said Justice Kayira. "The integration of technology in these early grades is not only improving literacy and numeracy, but also nurturing confidence and learner independence. This is the kind of innovation our education system needs."

Trustee John Kuyeli assists a learner in connecting an aux cable to a tablet during a BEFIT session, supporting hands-on learning and technology use.

A learner deeply engaged in a BEFIT tablet-enabled session, demonstrating focus and enthusiasm as they build foundational literacy and numeracy skills.

Representing the Chief Education Officer for Zomba Urban Education Office, Principal Education Officer Gladwell Mithenga also joined the tour. He highlighted the collaborative effort behind BEFIT's successful rollout and commended the school, zone and district teams for ensuring readiness ahead of the program's full transition.

The BEFIT program, which is transitioning from the initial Implementation Support Partner (ISP) Phase has set critical benchmarks across the districts to ensure sustainability.

“This transition is an important milestone. We are making sure that schools, teachers, and learners are well-prepared to sustain the gains of BEFIT beyond the ISP phase”, said Mithenga.

CRECCOM, as an implementing partner, continues to provide technical and community engagement support in the district, working closely with the Ministry of Education and other stakeholders to ensure that BEFIT not only thrives but endures.

“Let me see how it works,” says Trustee Chikondi Chabvuta as she observes a BEFIT session in progress, showing keen interest in how learners are engaging with the digital tools.

The Building Education Foundations Through Innovation and Technology (BEFIT) is a government of Malawi owned and led program aimed at enhancing foundational literacy and numeracy skills among learners in standard 1 to 4 across all public primary schools in Malawi through supplemental, individualized, self-paced instruction delivered via specialized apps on android tablets.