Let’s celebrate International Day of Education
This special day is the perfect time to report an amazing achievement involving thousands of schools in Malawi. Our Head of Education Laura Eastwood reports on creating positive change, on a huge scale.
(c) LWT
Established by the United Nations and celebrated every year, the International Day of Education is a wonderful opportunity to applaud the vital role education plays ‘for peace and development’. So we wanted to tell you about something remarkable taking place in Malawi schools, with Born Free’s support.
Head of Education, Laura Eastwood
For me, today underscores the importance of education as a fundamental right and a public responsibility. It emphasises the need for inclusive and equitable quality education, at all levels, to build a more sustainable and peaceful future. International Day of Education serves as a reminder of the power of education to transform lives, foster tolerance, protect the environment, and drive economic growth.
Born Free is proud to work with our long-standing partners in Malawi – the extraordinary Lilongwe Wildlife Trust. Devoted to wildlife rescue and conservation, in 2020 they started a particularly epic education journey. After years of working directly with schools, they had the opportunity to work directly with the Government of Malawi – through the Malawi Institute of Education – to integrate environmental education into the country’s official primary level curriculum.
Yes, the entire country! With an estimated three million primary school children in Malawi, this initiative had the potential to create change on a huge scale. Now, I’m delighted to share that, with some crucial seed funding from Born Free and other partners, the project recently achieved a huge milestone. The launch of Malawi’s first Wildlife and Environmental Education sourcebook for primary schools.
(c) LWT
Highlighting the importance of education in the sourcebook foreword, the Secretary for Education, Dr Mangani Chilala Katundu, says, “School children are probably the most effective change agents… Schools, therefore, play a critical role in the provision of knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes which are crucial for enabling Malawians to preserve wildlife and the environment.”
The sourcebook was produced as part of an overarching review of the national primary curriculum. Created to fill critical gaps in the existing curriculum, it incorporates content from Lilongwe Wildlife Trust’s core modules, which cover everything from wildlife crime to waste management. Each of the modules includes specific learning outcomes, content and activities, further reference material and review exercises.
Since then, the team has been working closely with the Government to start rolling out the sourcebook across the country’s network of 5,000 primary schools. This started with a three-day training programme delivered to an initial cohort of 80 teachers on how to implement the sourcebook.
Clement Manjaalera, Head of Environmental Education at Lilongwe Wildlife Trust told us: “The creation of the sourcebook is a huge step for our environmental education programme. It will provide schools nationwide with access to information about wildlife and the environment, which will improve students’ comprehension and inspire a positive mental shift.
“We extend our heartfelt thanks to Born Free and our other partners for their support of this initiative.”
The next step will involve continuing to print and distribute the sourcebook to all primary schools and ensuring that teachers are fully trained in its use. With so many primary schools, this will likely take place in phases over two or three years, and is dependent on finding sufficient funding.