Save the Children calls for partnership on Numeracy Boost
Save the Children International has appealed for partnership from stakeholders in the education sector in implementing its Numeracy Boost project in primary schools which it says enhances learners’ passion for mathematics.
Speaking today at the end of a three day media tour to its impact areas in Zomba, the organisation’s Sponsorship Manager on Basic Education, Bertha Chizuula, said through the project, many teachers have adopted the joyful teaching concept incorporated in the project.
She said this enables learners to acquire mastery skills for computing while having fun.
According to the organisation’s 2013/2014 end line assessment report conducted in 56 primary schools from seven education zones in Traditional Authorities Chikowi and Mbiza in the district, the project has registered an 11 percent average gain in computing and that more teachers are now able to use learner-centred participatory and inclusive teaching methods in mathematics.
Chizuula however believed the organisation could have done better had other stakeholders supported the initiative by ensuring that village learning camps are provided with good learning shelters, enough learning materials and that volunteer camp facilitators are given incentives.
“Even though we have reached out to 68,244 learners and 863 teachers in the two Tradition Authorities we feel the need to reach out to more, the joyful teaching and learning concept needs to be adopted in all schools and we definitely need partners to achieve this,” she said.
The Numeracy Boost project which targets standard one and four learners, was rolled out in 2012 following a Southern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Education Quality report (Sacmeq studies 1996-2011) which indicated that Malawi was second from the bottom in learner performance in Mathematics among the 12 SADC countries that participated in the study.
Principal Inspector of schools and teachers’ colleges in the ministry of education who is also Deputy National Research Coordinator for Sacmeq, Jennings Kayira spoke of the need for the ministry to adopt concepts in the project and scale them up so that all learners in the country benefit.
“My department is mandated to assess and take in board initiatives and methodologies that aim at improving the quality of education in the country. Now that I have visited the schools and the Village learning camps, I appreciate the impact the project is having and I am very optimistic that soon or letter, these concepts will be adopted in all primary schools in the county,” stated Kayira.
He said they will intensify training and visits among teachers and Primary Education Advisers (PEA) so that they learn from each other.
