Malawi

As the cornerstone of economic development and entry into the modern sector of the economy, secondary education is very important in Malawi. Secondary education developed late in Malawi, as little effort or expense was devoted to it throughout the colonial era. The year before independence there were only 3,000 secondary school openings in the entire nation, and only 4 of the 17 secondary schools offered a full program leading to a secondary school certificate. These schools were concentrated in a few key locations.

Secondary school normally last four years. Agriculture is a compulsory subject for all students. Wood working, metal work, and technical drawing are encouraged for boys, and home economics is encouraged for girls. An elite Latin grammar secondary school named after former president Banda is called Kamuzu Academy. It is located in the Kasungu District and takes only those students who were the very highest achievers in Standard 8 from all 24 of Malawi's districts. This school prepares students to attend Harvard, Yale, Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh, and the world's other best universities. Teachers are all carefully selected and have Latin as part of their background. During their first three years, every student must take Latin, English, and mathematics. They can choose to take other subjects including classics, history, geography, biology, chemistry, physics, economics, and modern languages, especially French. Kamuzu Academy students take the CHSC examination upon completion of Form IV and the Cambridge Senior School Certificate examinations upon completion of "A" levels or Form VI. Students at regular secondary schools take a similar course of studies, but without the Latin and extreme academic rigor. Regular secondary schools emphasize agriculture, wood working, metal working, and home economics more because they do not assume that 100 percent of their graduates will go on to universities. The idea is to give those who do not continue to an university some practical skills. In 1980, there were 66 secondary schools in Malawi. One of the biggest criticisms of secondary schools in Malawi is that they are too university-oriented. Few students continue on to college. Most instead immediately enter the workforce and need a different orientation. Secondary schools do not produce as many graduates as the labor market demands. This is especially true for females.

Most old secondary schools were boarding schools. Initially there were only a few secondary boarding schools, so students came from afar and needed to live at the school. Student completion rates at this time were 90 percent. Completion rates are currently by contrast 30 percent. Females are especially vulnerable to high dropout rates if they attend day schools. Girls in boarding schools have a 90 percent completion rate, but those attending day schools have a 25 percent completion rate and only 10 percent pass the MCE examination.

Malawi has five types of secondary school. There are aided boarding schools, aided day schools, government boarding-secondary schools, government day secondary schools, and private secondary schools. Most secondary teachers are qualified and hold either degrees or diplomas. Unqualified teachers are restricted to teaching civics, physical education, or the Chichewa language. There are shortages of teachers for English, mathematics, and the sciences.

Following independence the Banda government tried to equalize secondary school opportunities by building a government secondary school in each of Malawi's 21 administrative districts. These were day schools and far less expensive to run than the colonial styled boarding schools. This program brought the number of openings for secondary students up to 8,000 in 1967. In 1972, the number of places had expanded to 12,800 offered by more than 58 secondary schools. By 1980 some 5 percent of the secondary school-aged population attended secondary school (7 percent of the eligible males and 3 percent of the eligible females). This number increased to 8 percent of the population by 1990, representing 11 percent of eligible males, and 5 percent of eligible females. As of 1995, approximately 17 percent of the secondary school-aged population attended secondary school. Some 21 percent of eligible males and 12 percent of eligible females were enrolled in secondary schools. When pupil progression is examined, it is observed that of the students who began primary school only 10 percent reached secondary school by 1992. Although gross enrollment figures for 1980 and 1990 were 5 and 17 percent respectively, the net enrollment ratios were 39 and 73 percent respectively for the same years.

In 1980, there were 953 secondary school teachers. This number increased to 3,172 by 1995. In 1996, the pupil to teacher ratio was 16:1. Females made up 13 percent of all secondary school students by 1996, and 83 percent of girls were out of secondary school by 1996. Roughly 15.1 percent of secondary school students were forced to repeat a grade. There were 327,000 secondary school aged students out of school in 1980 but this number dropped to 250,000 by 1997, indicating that progress is being achieved in enrolling more students in secondary schools.

Classes are designated Form I-Form IV for the Ordinary or "O" level certificate, and Form V-VI for the Advanced or "A" level series of courses. Students desiring to enter a university in Malawi must successfully complete both their "O" level and "A" level courses. Many "A" level students take prequalification courses so that they can pass the London General Certificate of Education, which enables them to attend foreign universities. In general, after completing Form II, students take the Junior Certificate Exam if they wish to continue to Forms II and higher. In 1972, some 3,786 students took this test, and 2,807 or 74.1 percent passed it. Students finishing Form IV must take and pass the Malawi Certificate of Education to be admitted to Forms V-VI and local universities. In 1973, some 2,485 students took this exam, and 1,360 passed it with high enough marks to be awarded the full certificate and go on to Form V. Passing this exam does not admit students to the university. Students who successfully complete Form VI are awarded a higher school certificate which enables them to enter the university.

Technical education begins in primary school and continues through secondary school and university. Primary school students learn the rudiments of crafts, technology, and agriculture. More than 50 percent of all secondary schools offer technical education courses. Technical secondary schools and the polytechnic offer the most intense technical training. Government technical schools offer apprenticeship type training through a cooperation between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labor and in cooperation with local industry. Popular technical courses include plumbing, brickwork, carpentry and joinery, automobile mechanics, general fitting, diesel fitting, sheet-metal work, and electrical work. The minimum entry requirement for such courses is the Junior Certificate. Trainees spend one year in a government technical school taking courses in residence. At the end of the year, they take an examination. Those who pass earn a Grade 3 National Trade Certificate. Successful trainees are then apprenticed to an employer in an indentured relationship for three years. Throughout this three year period, trainees spend nine months understudying a master of the trade they seek to master and three months of each year taking courses at a technical school. Depending on the level of excellence a trainee reaches, they take either a Grade 2 Trade Test or a Grade 1 Trade Test. Throughout their apprenticeship trainees are paid a wage at a rate fixed by the government. Employers are refunded in full by the government for all expenses.

Assisted technical schools are owned by missionary organizations and managed by a board of governors who get annual government grants for their schools. Although similar to government schools, trainees are not eligible for apprenticeships. These schools offer two-year residential courses up to the Grade 2 Trade Test level. Students learn brickwork, carpentry and joinery, and automobile mechanics.

Technician courses require a high pass on the Malawi Certificate of Education. Such students follow normal apprenticeship patterns, then take courses full time for one year at a polytechnic, which is then followed by three years of "industrial attachment." Trainees spend six months of each year in industry and six months at the polytechnic, where they can take the "City and Guild" examination, which is then graded in London.

Engineering diplomas can be earned by taking a three year university course at a polytechnic. Academic courses are taken, as well as technical subjects. The engineering program began in 1977 and is a six-year program aimed at producing high level professional engineers.

Malawi also operates Youth Training Centers, under the authority of the Malawi Congress Party. Such centers provide training in building and metal works as a reward to youth who are party loyalists. After finishing such courses, youth go into business for themselves in rural communities. Graduates know how to build a complete house and manufacture things like furniture, doors, windows, and cupboards. Their metalwork training prepares them to maintain and repair farm implements, hand tools, bicycles, oxcarts, and other items common in rural areas. Training at these centers lasts from one to two years. Although these centers do not have apprenticeship programs, they do offer pre-apprenticeship programs that allow successful graduates to transfer to government sponsored schools which offer apprenticeship programs.