Scottish Government to donate 1,000 used computers to Malawi

The Scottish Government will donate 1,000 used computers to education projects in Malawi to help trainee teachers and students, it has announced.

The computers, which are no longer suitable for use in the Information and Technology Services Division, will be distributed by the Turing Trust.

It comes after the charity, based in Edinburgh, was awarded £60,000 from the International Small Grants Programme this year to train 80 teachers in Malawi, who will teach 9,000 girls who would otherwise be excluded from digital literacy lessons because of gender, disability or where they live.

James Turing, great nephew of World War Two code-breaker Alan Turing, said the computers would help around 18,000 students learn vital IT skills, while also offsetting 280 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

The Scottish Government updates its devices every four or five years, to ensure they are capable of running up-to-date secure software and operating systems to maintain cyber security.

International Development Minister Ben Macpherson said: “I’m very pleased that the Scottish Government will be donating 1,000 more computers to the Turing Trust, an excellent charity that works to improve digital literacy in sub-Saharan Africa.

“These computers will be serviced and securely cleansed of data before being taken to Malawi for use by students and trainee teachers.

“We’re delighted to be extending the useful life of this computer equipment and, by doing so, improving the IT literacy and career prospects of hundreds of people.”