Free Secondary Education in Malawi?

Talk of Malawi’s 2014 presidential election has fostered significant debate regarding the state of education in Malawi, specifically, the United Democratic Front’s proposition to provide free secondary education for Malawi’s youth. Malawi’s current education system is comprised of a primary system consisting of eight grades, while secondary and university systems have four years of curriculum each. In an opinion column for the Nyasa Times, writer Steve Sharra provided what he sees as the pros and cons of this proposal and the potential of the education system to develop a more prosperous Malawi.

Currently, Malawi has a free primary education system which is beneficial but has had its fair share of flaws and shortcomings. Subsequently, opponents of this free secondary education system look to the history of the primary education system, and worry that past mistakes will be repeated. In 2010 the World Bank published a study on the education system in Malawi and found that compared to other Sub Saharan African (SSA) countries, Malawi performs worse in post-primary levels and technical, entrepreneurial, vocational education and training. Malawi’s Southern African Consortium for Monitoring Education Quality (SACMEQ) scores in Mathematics and English reading are among the lowest. Dropout rates are high and lead to a 35 percent completion rate for students within the system. As of 2010, the primary education system requires 23 years to produce one Standard 8 graduate, instead of eight years with an ideal internal efficiency. The retention rate in secondary education is much better, with very few dropouts within the cycle. (World Bank)

Having a sufficient number of teachers as well as ensuring they are adequately qualified through their own education and training is a significant issue. The ratio of student to trained teacher hovers at 88:1. When only looking at urban schools, however, the student-teacher ratio (STR) drops to 46:1

In addition to the lack of physical resources to maintain a thriving education system, opponents also worry about the implications of further dependency on donors for Malawi’s economy and ability to thrive and be competitive on a global scale. The cost of providing more free education is beyond the financial means of Malawi’s budget and an argument is made that investing in other areas of national development could produce benefits within a shorter time frame.

Proponents of a completely free education system acknowledge past failures in the education system but see these as a resource to create a better system. “Knowing where things went wrong ought to mean knowing how to do things differently next time,” says Sharra. For example, when free primary education was implemented, little to no consideration was made to how an influx of students would affect secondary education and its ability to accommodate such an increase in enrollment. If secondary education becomes free as well, the same mistake cannot be made at the University level.

Other considerations for a fully free education system would include a detailed list of what physical infrastructure needs to be created, how this will affect federal budget, where to get money to supplement the national budget for education, and a targeted plan for application until full-scale implementation is viable. Another important consideration is providing programs for those who are beyond secondary school age, but have not yet completed secondary level requirements.

Providing for education is a direct investment in the future of Malawi and affects economic activity for individuals as well as the nation. Education has the potential to strengthen human capital, and aid Malawians in thinking critically in a world of economic crises and high unemployment to find new and innovative responses to problems. There is much to consider though, including infrastructure, capacity, and economic feasibility.

Additional reference: US Embassy in Malawi

Meet Nicole, our newest intern!

Nicole Bradley, a former World Camp volunteer, is interning with us at the World Camp Asheville office. She's been helping with recruiting, writing blogs and research for us. Nicole is majoring in International Studies with a minor in African studies and a focus on gender roles in rural Africa, particularly Malawi.

Check out her interview below!

Where's your hometown?

I am from Rutherfordton, NC which is just about an hour away from Asheville.

How did you end up at World Camp?

Well I actually volunteered in Malawi over the summer 2011. I found out about it through the Study Abroad Fair at University of North Carolina Asheville and have been basically obsessed ever since. I really wanted to stay involved with World Camp when I got back, and since most of the programs go along with my major and undergraduate research, interning seemed to fit perfectly.

What do you do when you're not busy at World Camp?

I’m super busy. I’m trying to graduate a semester early, so school takes a lot of my time. I also work part-time at Target. Between UNCA and Target, it feels like I’m never home. I do love to sing and write music with my teensy free time.

What aspect of World Camp are you most passionate about?

I am most passionate about World Camp’s empowerment program. As a past volunteer, the empowerment program is the one that I felt held the most weight when I volunteered. The girls always seemed so excited to sit in our circle, and they had so many questions. It’s just so inspiring to talk to see them interact, and how the empowerment could affect them in the future.

What's your favorite thing to do in Asheville?

I love Asheville’s downtown scene. When I get time, I try to experiment with all the unique delicious food you find there. I also love to catch live music when I can.

What has been your favorite thing to work on at World Camp so far?

I haven’t been interning here too long, but I love researching for blog posts. I get to find out new and exciting information and share it with everyone!

What your hopes for the future of World Camp?

I’d love to see World Camp continue to grow their programs. The addition of Camp Hope is one that I find incredibly exciting; it is something that World Camp has added since I volunteered. Whether expanding their programs in Malawi, or even expanding to other countries eventually, I think that World Camp does such amazing work; I’d love to see it reach more people.

Reinier Terwindt Continues His Involvement with Malawi - Even in Grad School

Our much adored former Program Development Coordinator, Reinier Terwindt left Malawi after this summer to earn his second Master's. This one will be from Columbia University in New York City in International Education. Despite moving from the Warm Hear of Africa to the Big Apple, Reinier is still focused on Malawi. In fact, this week he will be presenting his research on decentralization of Malawian education at the Comparative and International Education Society Conference along with members of the Malawian Ministry of Education. We are proud to consider Reinier a part of the World Camp family, and honored by his continued participation in our work. Below you can find the abstract of the research he will be presenting. Many of the groups mentioned in his abstract are the very groups World Camp works with in it's partner communities to try to improve school management and education delivery.

In 2010 Malawi initiated its Primary School Improvement Programme (PSIP) to expand equitable access, increase quality and relevance, and strengthen governance and management in education – that is, to achieve key objectives in the country’s National Education Sector Plan. With technical assistance from USAID’s Education Decentralization Support Activity (EDSA), PSIP was initiated in six districts in 2010-11 (Phase 1) and expanded to twelve districts in 2011-12 (Phase 2), with plans to include thirteen more districts in 2012-13 and the remaining nine districts in 2013-14. A key element of PSIP is having school management committees (SMCs) and parent teacher associations (PTAs) lead a process of developing, implementing, and monitoring school improvement plans (SIPs), which are supported partially by funds from proposed and approved school improvement grants (SIGs). Besides giving more decentralized authority and responsibility to head teachers, PSIP encourages parents and other community members to participate in school governance through the SMCs and PTAs, especially in relation to the SIPs and SIGs. This presentation reports on findings from studies conducted in March 2012. One study consisted of structured interviews with head teachers, SMC chairs, and a parent in 81 schools, which are located in the six Phase 1 districts and which had received SIGs during 2010-11 and/or 2011-12. The interviews elicited perspectives on their school’s experiences with the SIP and the SIG. A second study collected data from primary education advisors on the SIG budget decisions for 2010-11 and/or 2011-12 of all 1084 schools in the six districts included in Phase 1 of PSIP. Findings indicate that community stakeholder meetings were held before and after developing the SIPs in at least 75% of the schools, although the percentage decreased slightly over the 2010-2012 period. Moreover, over 70% of head teachers, SMC chairs, and parents interviewed reported that the SIP process had contributed “to a very great extent” or “to a considerable extent” to improvements in access and equity, quality and relevance, and especially governance and management. In comparing SIG budget priorities for 2010-11 and 2011-12, we observe an increase in the percent of schools employing teaching assistants, and decreases in the percentages of schools procuring teaching and learning materials, constructing latrines, and purchasing materials for school management and record keeping. However, we did not find differences between schools which had received SIGs for one versus two years in how they implemented the process nor in the percentage of schools budgeting for various items as part of their SIGs (with the notable exceptions of teaching assistants and learning materials). Moreover, the percentages of 2011-12 SIG funds devoted to employing teaching assistants and to buying teaching and learning materials were not significantly associated with the school’s pupil-teacher ratio, dropout rate, repetition rate, and Primary School Leaver Certificate Exam pass rate (in 2011), indicating that other factors informed their SIG budgeting decisions. These and other findings are discussed to illuminate opportunities and constraints on efforts to engage community members in enhancing educational quality in countries like Malawi.

Happy International Women's Day!!

In honor of International Women’s Day, we thought we would look at how women in Malawi are striving to improve their situation. From a female president to local mothers working to support area youths, Malawian women shape their communities and are increasingly fighting for more rights and better livelihoods. 

For many women living in Malawi, the appointment of Joyce Banda as president has been an exciting indicator of change to come in the next few years for women in Malawi. More than ever, the country’s women are striving to achieve greater access to education, healthcare, opportunity and human rights. Historically, women have suffered an unequal status in society. Joyce Banda’s pledge to strive for women’s empowerment and rights reflects her own past that mirrors the situation of many women in Malawi. Banda was able to escape an abusive marriage and move on to a new life, job, and marriage, but she realizes that many women do not have access to the same opportunities as she.

“Two years later I got married again to my husband who was a high court judge in Malawi. For the next two, three years I moved from zero to hero: I was running the largest business owned by a woman in Malawi, in industrial garment manufacturing. But when I looked back his fingerprint was all over: if I wanted training, he paid; if I wanted a loan, he came with me. Because of his status in society everything was easy for me, so I had succeeded but I had succeeded because I was privileged. And that's when it began to worry me. I began to think about those that were in my situation that were not able to walk out of an abusive marriage, or maybe those that did not know where to go, that were in a single headed marriage, or widows.”

Women all over Malawi suffer similar conditions every day. But in realizing their shared situation, women have been rising up to improve their personal conditions and access to assistance.

As seen in this article, Malawi’s women have recently been standing up for improved healthcare and their rights concerning HIV/AIDS. For instance, the main antiretroviral (ARV), a drug taken to prevent the onset of HIV after one is infected with it, provided by the Malawian government is D4T. However, D4T contains harmful chemicals that results in physical disfiguration and even eventual death. Malawian women have been campaigning against the provision of these drugs and demanding more effective treatments.

In a separate event, a health clinic in the town of Chipoka was closed because it did not have sufficient staff to remain open. HIV-positive patients seeking ARVs on a Thursday were told they could not get them until Tuesday. Female activists, knowing this could be detrimental for the HIV-positive individuals, protested and spoke with officials, and managed to have the clinic reopened 7 days a week as originally intended. (Note: Taking ARVs sporadically or inconsistently can lead to drug resistance, rendering a particular drug or drug cocktail useless.)

“We are going to challenge the government to make a policy to ensure a sustainable ART [antiretroviral treatment] regimen regardless of whether donors are here or not. And we also need the government to make sure that [HIV] positive women have their own resources like savings loans and fertilizers [for farming]. It’s our responsibility to fight for these things,” stressed rights activist Ms. Sibongile Chibwe

In other parts of Malawi, many women’s groups and mothers’ groups have been coming together to monitor the enrollment of girls in school, as well as their attendance and retention. These groups realize that increasing education for girls will in turn decrease the poverty rates in a society – raising the overall productivity of that community. UNICEF published a short piece on a Mothers’ Group that has helped coax girls back to school at Mnjolo Primary School. There are many cases such as this in which these groups have been successful in increasing enrollment by providing things that very poor families cannot afford for school, like uniforms.

There is growing hope for the women of Malawi as they rise up to change their own conditions. In taking this stance, women are empowering themselves and making the first steps of changing century old attitudes, habits, and situations that have deprived women everywhere. Today we salute these women and hope to be able to support them in their efforts.
 

A Return Journey to Malawi

A Return Journey to Malawi

When I arrived in Malawi this January it was 8 years to the day since I had first set foot there. I had always hoped to return to Malawi but never fully expected it to happen. How could I be so lucky as to set off on such an adventure more than once in a life? 

After a quick change of clothes (it was balmy in Lilongwe unlike DC in January), and Customs, I met my partner in crime, and guide to all things Malawi, Michael Kumwenda, our Country Manager. I was admittedly exhausted after the trip from DC but I was exhilarated on the drive from the airport to our house in Area 3. I had absolutely forgotten just how beautiful Malawi is – particularly in the rainy season. As before, the side of the highway was as congested as the roadway itself, filled with men transporting goods on the back of bicycles; whole families piled onto a single bike; small groups of school children walking in single-file lines; vendors selling all manner of things, from bricks, to tire scraps to puppies.

January is typically a time of great activity for World Camp. This particular January we were hosting a study abroad trip for a group of students from Appalachian State University. They, however, had departed for safari in Zambia the morning I arrived. It had been a long time since I had seen our house or any of our staff there, but it all came back so easily: the big, open space of the living room; the enormous kitchen (with its crazy cabinetry); and wonderful John and Angoni. 

The majority of my time in-country was spent working hand-in-hand with Michael to learn more about our day-to-day operations in Malawi. I attended many of our World Camp Club meetings, stakeholders’ meetings, and met with the community based organizations with which we work. Because the ASU group was there for the first half of my trip I was also able to do an overnight homestay in Mchezi and enjoy some of the fun trips our volunteer groups take.

My time in Malawi was half a chance to learn, half an exercise in remembering. I was reminded of the deep generosity and kindness of every Malawian I have met, the joy of driving down a dirt road and waving to everyone you pass. Being in Malawi feels like being in the biggest small town despite its rapidly growing population. Getting to spend a second month in Malawi, I was able to learn so much more about the country, its people, and customs. I was also reminded just how good Garlic Nali really is.

My time in Malawi has been and will be instrumental in the expansion of World Camp’s programming. I was able to learn vast amounts about Camp Hope (which is quickly approaching!), see first-hand how our World Camp Clubs are progressing, get to know our staff, and collaborate with them on many tasks and programs. I am excited to see what all will come of my trip. We have already refined processes, re-assessed program roll-out, and developed concrete measurement tools as a result of my time in Malawi.

I am grateful to have had the chance to return to Malawi and excited by the prospect of returning this summer. I know that the more amazing trips to Malawi I am able to take, the more I will grow, and the more World Camp will benefit.