By Chisomo Phiri
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Malawi (UNIMA), Sunduzwayo Madise, has called on the government to consider reducing taxes on smartphones to make them more accessible to students for educational purposes.
He made the remarks on Monday at UNIMA in Zomba during a workshop promoting online learning, which also featured the Malawi Institute of Education (MIE).
Madise noted that the high cost of smartphones is a major barrier to access for many students.
He gave examples of how students in remote areas such as Nthalire in Chitipa, Nyezelera in Phalombe, Marka in Nsanje, and other distant regions could benefit from online learning from their homes if they had access to smartphones.
“UNIMA is ready to train lecturers in online teaching methodologies,” said Madise.
On his part,Director of Higher Education in the Ministry of Higher Education, Zizwa Msukuma, said the ministry is committed to facilitating access to education through modern online technologies.
