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.