Malawi looks to tech to solve teacher shortage
04:54 Share

Trading shouldn't have barriers. When Robinhood started, it was built to make trading more accessible. Now, Robinhood offers more sophisticated trading tools. Experience the future of trading on Robinhood Legend, the all-new desktop platform that harnesses intuitive design to deliver a seamless experience for traders, free to use with a Robinhood account.

The future of trading is fast, powerful, and precise. Experience it now on Robinhood Legend. Sign up today. Investing is risky. Robinhood Financial LLC, member SIPC, is a registered broker-dealer. Other fees may apply. This podcast is brought to you by LHH, the Global Talent Solutions and Advisory Company. What does work really mean? For many, it's just transactional, functional. But LHH believes it can be more.

Work isn't just about tasks and deadlines. It's about passion, people, and possibilities. With the right guidance and vision, incredible things can happen at work. Finding the perfect hire, nurturing talent, making the ordinary extraordinary. LHH doesn't just find beautiful moments at work. LHH creates them. Recruitment, development, career transition.

LHH, a beautiful working world. Learn more at LHH.com slash beautiful. One of the poorest countries in the world is investing in tech for education. From American Public Media, this is Marketplace Tech. I'm Noah Safo.

The African nation of Malawi has free primary schools, but little else. It lacks teachers, basic resources. The World Bank says three quarters of the country's population lives on less than $2.15 a day. In that context, Malawi's government is turning to high-tech solutions to help the country's children improve their math and reading skills. The BBC's Myra Anubi has more. I'm going to go to school. I'm going to go to school.

Seated in front of me are 56 students, each receiving a cable, a headset and a tablet. Now I have to say, these kids are organized. They've all sat down in rows, very quiet.

This room has no tables, it has no chairs, but it has tablets and headphones and children eagerly waiting to use them. Shamim Hassan, the class teacher, is telling the children to put on their headphones and switch on the tablets. But the actual lesson? Well, that's being carried out by a virtual figure on their screen, a digital teacher. Shamim shows me how it works. So a virtual teacher appeared. Her name is? Alisa.

So every time you get an answer correct, a tick appears on the screen. Now you have to put all the balls inside the box. Okay. So some of these lessons are direct lessons like adding, but some of them are games. Yes.

We should read words, letters, even syllables. Father, lessons, they tell them to add, divide, even multiplications. For half an hour every day, these children learn maths and reading at their own pace and in their own language. Eleven-year-old Matthews told me why he likes studying on the tablet. I like studying on the tablet.

What he loves most is mathematics, especially the division one. If, for example, he said if there are 10 mangoes and there are five children, how many did each one get? So that's what he loves to do on a tablet. We'll be right back.

America's energy future begins now. We have the opportunity to strengthen our economy and reduce inflation. And with this opportunity comes great responsibility. Working together, we can harness our energy advantage and improve the lives of every American. More American energy means more jobs, more security, and more innovation. That's the promise of America's oil and natural gas. America's moment is now. Learn more at lightsonenergy.org.

Paid for by the American Petroleum Institute. Hi, I'm Richard Karn, and you may have seen me on TV talking about the world's number one expandable garden hose. Well, the brand new Pocket Hose Copperhead with Pocket Pivot is here, and it's a total game changer. Old-fashioned hoses get kinks and creases at the spigot.

But the Copperhead's pocket pivot swivels 360 degrees for full water flow and freedom to water with ease all around your home. When you're all done, this rust-proof anti-burst hose shrinks back down to pocket size for effortless handling and tidy storage. Plus, your super light and ultra durable pocket hose Copperhead is backed with a 10-year warranty. What could be better than that?

I'll tell you what, an exciting radio exclusive offer just for you. For a limited time, you can get a free Pocket Pivot and their 10-pattern sprayer with the purchase of any size Copperhead hose. Just text WATER to 64000. That's WATER to 64000 for your two free gifts with purchase. W-A-T-E-R to 64000. By texting 64000, you agree to receive recurring automated marketing messages from Pocket Hose. Message and data rates may apply. No purchase required. Terms apply. Available at pockethose.com slash terms.

You're listening to Marketplace Tech. I'm Nova Safo. We're back with the BBC's Myra Anubi reporting from Malawi. Tablets are common enough in many parts of the world, but in rural areas like this, they are completely new and they've created a lot of interest. Lloyd Gutsu is the head teacher. After the tablet sessions being introduced here, the enrollment increased.

Now, because Takumana School isn't on the electricity grid, solar panels have been installed to charge the tablets.

Amos Zayendi is from Imagine Worldwide, the NGO that supports the project. For us to drive learning using the tablet, we need to have power. We are going to schools that are off-grid, so we are providing solar. We provide the facilities for storage of the tablets. We train the teachers and other education officers that are involved

in delivering education at the primary school level. The tablets cost around $7 per child and critics say that the money should be spent on more teachers in a country where there's an average of 70 children in a class. The man behind the projects at the Ministry of Education is Dr Joshua Valeta. What we are doing actually is bringing an extra teaching and learning material

that allows us to do what every educator wants to do, and that is to achieve independent learning. Using one teacher in a classroom that has 106 kids, it's close to, I don't like using the word impossible, but very difficult. Let's create an opportunity for every learner, at least 30 minutes in a day, when they can learn at their own pace.

In trials, they found that children with tablets made significant gains in literacy and numeracy compared to standard teaching. The plan is to have tablet teachers in every primary school by the end of the decade. That was the BBC's Myra Anubi. I'm Novosafo, and that's Marketplace Tech. This is APM.

Hey there, it's Ryan, co-host of Million Bazillion, a podcast that answers your kids' big questions about money. From slam dunks to home runs, some professional athletes make a lot of money. Because it turns out, if you have a star player, everyone wants to pay you more. This week on the podcast, we keep score of how pay works in the world of sports. Listen to Million Bazillion wherever you get your podcasts.