Malawi

The Ministry of Education has oversight responsibility and sets academic standards for all schools in Malawi. This includes primary, secondary, technical schools, teacher training institutes, agricultural colleges, correspondence colleges, business schools, polytechnic institutes, and the university. The university and Polytechnic Institute are in fact autonomous, but tradition now dictates that they come under the authority of the Ministry of Education. Adult education programs operated by ministries like the Defense, Agriculture, and the Interior are autonomous.

When Banda ruled education was a privilege given to a select few. Large numbers of Malawians were denied basic education. Today, primary education is universal and compulsory. Students enter school at age six and remain for eight years. Secondary education begins when students reach 14 years of age. It lasts for four years and is divided into two sets of two-year courses. By 1995, the total enrollment in primary and secondary schools was roughly 100 percent of school aged youth (males 106 percent and females 94 percent). Secondary enrollments still lag with 21 percent of males and 12 percent of females attending for an overall enrollment of 17 percent. Efforts are underway to expand educational opportunities. Free primary education was introduced in 1994. This led to a dramatic increase in primary school attendance, but it also caused overcrowding in many schools and a decline in the quality of education. Malawi recognizes these problems and is making efforts to fix them. For instance, in 1996, the International Development Association granted Malawi $22 million to train 20,000 new teachers to handle all the new students who are crowding into the schools. The African Development Bank also earmarked money for new school construction for primary and secondary schools in Malawi in 1997.

In 1995, Malawi had 3,706 primary schools, which were staffed by 49,138 primary school teachers. There were 2,887,107 primary school pupils of whom 1,528,564 were males and 1,358,543 were females. Opportunities are limited to attend secondary schools because throughout the Banda era an elitist attitude prevailed, i.e., only the rich, the best, and the brightest were encouraged to attend secondary school. All other students were pushed into vocational training or forced to farm the land. Although there are few secondary schools, they are of very high quality. The exact number of secondary schools is not available but there were 2,948 secondary school teachers in 1995, teaching 139,386 students. Of these students, 90,003 were male and 49,383 were female. There were 145 teachers who staffed teacher-training institutes, and they taught 1,471 potential new teachers, of whom 996 were males and 475 were females. Vocational schools were staffed by 79 teachers, who taught 1,054 vocational students. No breakdown by sex was available for vocational students. Malawi had 6 universities in 1995, which were staffed by 329 professors. They taught 3,872 students of whom 2,917 were male and 955 were female (UNESCO: Statistical Yearbook 1995). Other institutions of higher learning were staffed by 202 teachers and had 1,689 students studying administration and other subjects. Of these 959 were male and 730 were female. As of 1997 Malawi spent 2,111 kwacha on education or 20.4 percent of the budget. In 2001 the adult illiteracy rate was 58 percent (males 28 percent and females 58 percent), despite compulsory education between the ages of 6 and 14.

Academic years begin in September and end in June. There are 3 primary school teacher-training colleges, each of which enrolls roughly 500 students. Missions also operate other teacher training institutes with about 600 students. Primary school teachers are trained at the lower secondary level in teacher-training colleges where courses last two years. Selection for entry is by interview. Primary education begins at age six and consists of two cycles, i.e., Standard 1-5 and Standard 6-8. Many students are above the average age, and 16 percent repeat a grade. The dropout rate is high but declining. Chichewa is the language of instruction in most primary schools up to Standard 4. From Standard 5 on, English is the language of instruction. The central government pays teachers salaries, provides grants, and collects any authorized school fees to cover operating expenses.

Secondary school teachers are trained at the postsecondary level at Chancellor College, which offers a three year course that leads to a diploma in education, as well as a five year course culminating in a bachelor's degree in education. Technical teachers are trained jointly at the Polytechnic and Chancellor's College. Four-year secondary school courses are divided into two components. The first leads to a Junior Certificate (JC), and the second leads to a Malawi Certificate of Education (MCE), which is required for admission to the university. Completion of both levels is equivalent to finishing the "O" or Ordinary Level in the British system of education of high school in the American system.

Entry into the nursing, primary teacher training, vocational training, or agricultural training programs demand as a minimum requirement that students have earned the Junior Certificate (JC). Each of these courses requires a minimum of two additional years of training. This excludes nursing, which demands three to four more years of schooling. All educational requirements are geared toward meeting the manpower needs of Malawi, which are determined by the Ministry of Education.

Both the colonial British legacy and the legacy of former president Banda left Malawi with a large adult population that was illiterate. While attacking the problem, officials in Malawi recognize that this continues to be a stumbling block along the road to development and modernization. In 1980, there were 1,802,000 illiterates in Malawi. Of these, 559,000 or 36.3 percent were males and 1,243,000, or 72.7 percent were females. The total rate of illiteracy in 1980 was 55.5 percent. By 1990, the number of illiterates reached 2,369,000. The total illiteracy rate had fallen however to 48.1 percent because the population had grown rapidly. Of these 735,000 were males or 31.2 percent, and 1,634,000 or 63.7 percent were females. In 2000, the total rate of illiteracy in Malawi had fallen to 39.7 percent, but there were 2,296,000 illiterates of whom 718,000 or 25.5 percent were males and 1,577,000 or 53.3 percent were females. While the absolute number of illiterates has risen over time, the relative percentage of illiterates in Malawi's population has fallen. An encouraging trend is the decline in the percentage of women who are illiterate over time. Because women socialize children, this change should boost literacy rates in the future generations of Malawians.