Why Malawi’s education sector could be on the cusp of change

On 5^th April, 2022, Minister of Education, Hon. Agnes NyaLonje presented a ministerial statement to Parliament on the status of government projects in the primary and secondary education sub-sectors. The statement paints the grim reality of problems gripping the country’s education system, but it also shows that if we can follow through on current policy plans, strategies, and the national vision, we might be on the cusp of change over the foreseeable future.

It is nothing short of a national scandal, as we have known since the 2018 population and housing census, that 85 percent of 14-17 year-old Malawians are out of school. It is deeply troubling that 62 percent of students who pass the Standard 8 examination have nowhere else to go because our public secondary school capacity accommodates only 38 percent of those who pass. Such is the precarity and fragility of our education and social protection systems that 450,000 primary school learners (8 percent) have dropped out of school since the onset of the covid-19 pandemic. For secondary school students, that number is 37,000 (9 percent).

Before the cyclones between January and March this year, 10 percent of primary school learners were using temporary classrooms, while 25 percent were using open air classrooms. According to the Ministry of Education, the cyclones affected 476 schools in 22 education districts. There is a deficit of 4.4 million desks for both primary and secondary schools. At the primary school level, 75 percent of learners do not have a desk.

There is progress being made, but it is slow. The government has been constructing three teacher training colleges, but four years since construction started, not even one has been completed. Indications are that all three will be completed this year, which will be a great development. The Secondary Education Expansion for Development (SEED) project, which aims to expand or construct 250 secondary schools, started in 2018, and is expected to end in 2023. With one year to go, the project has constructed only 16 new secondary schools, and expanded only 30. Hopefully there will be an extension, owing to the delays this important project has encountered.

There are positive signs on the horizon, however. There are ambitious and forward looking policies and strategies that, if strictly followed and implemented, could lead to tremendous improvements in the system by 2030 and beyond. The MIP-1, the implementation plan for the first 10 years of the Malawi 2063 vision, has made several strategic provisions. By 2025 all primary schools are expected to have an Early Childhood Education program to ensure that every child has access to public pre-school. Currently only 28 percent of our children have access to pre-school, and these are mostly privately owned centres in urban areas. Access to early childhood education will help most children enter primary school well prepared, and succeed.

Currently about 800,000 children enter Standard One every year, and only about 300,000 survive to Standard 8. This explains why 67 percent of Malawians aged 15 and above do not have any school qualification, according to the 2018 population and housing census. There are far more Malawians outside the school system, than those in school, especially those of adolescent and young adult ages. The budget has nothing for them. The MIP-1 provides for community learning centres, which would address this problem.

There are three other really important strategic interventions the government is undertaking. The Ministry of Education is introducing Open, Distance and eLearning across the entire education system. This could unlock access for millions of Malawians who are denied an opportunity for education especially at secondary and tertiary levels. The Ministry is also developing a new science, technology and innovation strategy that, together with the ODeL strategy, could solve major problems of access, quality, research and innovation across the education system.

There is also a National Teacher Policy that aims to transform the teaching profession and make it central to improving the quality of education and enhance human development capabilities. Once launched, the teaching profession may not be the same. At the heart of Malawi 2063 and the MIP-1 are education, knowledges and competencies to deliver on the aspirations both in the short term and in the long term. That is why one of the seven pillars of Malawi 2063 is human capital development, which others prefer to call human capabilities to ward off the exploitative scent of neoliberal thinking. The education system, and teachers in particular, are therefore central to the achievement of the national vision.

So what we really need to do, as a nation, is to make sure we all understand the vision we have set for ourselves. Even more important is to develop a strong implementation mindset to ensure that we follow through on what we have pledged to do. We should put behind us the era of developing brilliant policies and strategies but failing to implement them. The Malawi 2063 and the MIP-1 are brilliant, well thought out documents. But they need to be seen as living documents that can respond to shifting ground. They also require vigilance and determination, especially in the governance and public sector performance areas.

What is most crucial about the new policies and strategies is that they need to aim at growing the economy exponentially, for the country to be able to start financing and implementing the national vision in the mid-term and in the long term. The current education sector investment plan for the period 2020 to 2030 envisages that for 2022, the education sector requires MK1 trillion. The 2022-2023 budget passed in Parliament recently has allocated MK462 billion to the education sector; not even half of what is needed. This is a problem of the national economy and governance systems.

Currently there is about K153 billion ($180 million) from development partners going into the primary education sub-sector, and about K204 billion ($240 million), also from development partners, being spent on the secondary education sub-sector. Development projects in the education sector are still heavily dependent on donor aid, largely due to the size of our economy which is incapable of funding huge infrastructure projects. There is hope that the MIP-1 strategy might help to begin to change things.

The massive corruption and theft that have now become a daily front page routine pose an existential threat to the national vision, but one we can overcome, if we are determined enough.

Fresh exams: MSCE rerun and the future of education in Malawi

Eighteen days after the Ministry of Education and the Malawi National Examinations Board (MANEB) cancelled this year’s Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) examination, students now have direction as to what happens next. On Sunday 22^nd November the Ministry of Education released guidelines for secondary schools to follow in preparing for the re-take of the exams. There are still a few grey areas that need clarification, but the guidelines are a welcome action in moving forward. Most importantly, there are lessons to be learned from this national fiasco. We cannot afford to repeat the mistakes that led to the mess, or we will risk jeopardizing the future of the education system and the lives of many young Malawians.

Photo credit: Steve Sharra

The press release from the Ministry states that Form 4 students whose exams were cancelled are expected to report back to school on Monday 28^th December. This applies to both public and private schools. No further fees shall be paid, as fees for the third term had not yet been exhausted when the examination was cancelled on 4^th November. The release further states that government will bear the cost of both examination fees as well as practical examinations. The rerun of the MSCE exam shall be completed by the end of January, 2021, therefore newly selected Form 1 students will be expected to report to school on 1^st February 2021. The rest of the continuing students, Forms 2 to 4, are expected back on campus on 5^th January, 2021.

After schools were closed in March due to the covid pandemic, the new MSCE exams calendar was from 27^th October to 20^th November. Massive and widespread leakages and cheating unraveled days after the exams commenced. Papers were shared on social media platforms ahead of their scheduled time. That made it impossible to determine who might have had advance access to the papers and who might not, let alone what paper would leak next. Continuing with the rest of the exams became an untenable position.

Not all 150,000 students would have accessed the papers before sitting them, and the decision to cancel the exam was most painful for those students who did not participate in the cheating. But it was the entire examination and the country’s national education system that were at stake, hence the decision to cancel the exam and do it all over again.  

There have been a few questions and observations that have been asked or raised on various social media forums. Will the government absorb all the exam-related costs for private schools as well? Does this mean Form 4 teachers will not enjoy their New Year’s holiday? With students returning to school and the retake of MSCE commencing a few days later, will schools and students have adequate preparation? As there are some 35 or so days to the 28^th of December, what should schools and students be doing in the meantime?

These are all valid questions, but as others have observed, we are dealing with an unprecedented situation which demands unprecedented solutions. After more than two weeks of silence from the Ministry since the cancellation, teachers, parents and students were becoming anxious as it was not clear what the way forward was. Unscrupulous elements were beginning to fill the void and taking advantage of desperate students.

The Ministry will need to further clarify some issues, but it is very commendable that they have taken the bold decision to own up and take responsibility for the mess. The government’s decision to cover all the costs related to the exams ensures that innocent students are not doubly penalized by paying more fees. Educational policies are meant to be implemented across the system, for both public and private schools. However private schools in Malawi have their own set of dynamics that may require policies and guidelines to be modified to suit particular contexts.

For example, some private schools have already recalled their students as we speak. No wise Form 4 teacher can afford to take it easy and wait until the 28^th of December. Recalling students back to school before the 28^th December entails costs that fall outside the government’s arrangement. Of concern here is the issue of inequality. Some students will have the means to continue preparing for the examinations between now and 28^th December, while many students will not. Schools will need to consult with parents and students and find mutually agreeable ways of utilizing the time between now and the end of December.

When schools re-opened on 7^th September after the covid-19 closure, there wasn’t much time for students to prepare for the exams which were scheduled to start on 27^th October. Many students, especially the less privileged ones, did not have the structures and facilities to allow them to continue learning while they were at home. Many of them felt unprepared when 27^th October arrived. Unfortunately, there is little to suggest that they will utilize the next 36 days in a better way. It will take the foresight of school leaders, the dedication of teachers and the commitment of parents to plan ways of keeping students engaged with their school work as they await the re-take of the MSCE.

Moving forward, there are important lessons to be learned from what has happened. Key to learning these lessons will be the findings from the various investigations that were announced by MANEB itself, the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Ministry of Education. If it was not apparent before this crisis, national examinations are an integral part of the education system and are of national interest. The public has a big stake in the examinations. MANEB is a public institution and runs on taxpayer money. Thus the Ministry of Education must be accountable to the people of Malawi, and they know this.

The MSCE is a high stakes examination. The MSCE can open or shut a door to one’s future. With a tertiary enrollment of 0.8 percent, Malawi ranks at the bottom of global league tables for access to further education. As Professor Paul Tiyambe Zeleza has pointed out, this is a national scandal that needs urgent attention.

The problem is systemic because Malawi’s education sector loses students right from the pre-school level where only one in three children has access to early childhood education. One out of four children is out of school at the primary level, and four out of five youths are out of school at the secondary school level, according to the 2018 national population and housing census. Thus it is the entire pipeline that has a huge access problem, leading to the 0.8 percent tertiary enrollment rate.  

Examinations determine the futures of millions of young people and their families. National examinations also shape the international image of a country’s education system. There are jobs, tertiary education and other career paths awaiting students in their future. These depend a great deal on the integrity of national examinations.

Credit: Steve Sharra

The covid-19 pandemic has thrown an open challenge to rethink education systems for the future. Countries are now searching for ways to keep education systems going even when there are disruptions from pandemics, natural disasters or such other unforeseen crises. Countries must enhance their investments in educational technologies, including traditional ones. Learners must have books both at school and at home. Radios, televisions, computers and even mobile phones are very useful in providing ongoing education. More importantly, teachers must be properly educated in how to use these technologies and educational materials, especially in times of disruptions.

Beginning around 2011/12 MANEB engaged an extra gear in how they approached and prepared for national examinations. They crisscrossed the country engaging stakeholders, including communities, parents, the media and students themselves. This helped key stakeholders take ownership of the process to safeguard the security and integrity of national examinations. This did a lot to minimize incidences of leakages and cheating. When they happened, MANEB was able to move, identify the issue and isolate it, and address it with the relevant processes. The rest of the examinations were able to continue.

Something happened with the 2020 MSCE examinations. It is possible that covid-19 made it impossible for MANEB to do its usual stakeholder consultations and community sensitization of everyone’s role in ensuring the security and integrity of the examinations. As my colleague Dr. Limbani Nsapato observed, there is also the possibility that there were oversight slippages during the months when government parastatals, which include MANEB, went without Boards of Governors as we transitioned from the previous government to the current one. Only the investigations will help us know for sure.

It is therefore imperative that the investigations are carried out and completed, and that the reports are released, and utilized for the retake of the MSCE, and for future examinations. Failure to learn from this will create an existential crisis for the future of MANEB and the country’s educational system.

 

In defense of Malawian languages: The case for multilingualism in our schools

Thanks to students majoring in Education at the University of Malawi’s Chancellor College, the Ministry of Education’s decision for English to be the language of instruction starting from Standard One has become a national debate. I would like to congratulate the students for their active participation in a matter of national significance.

The significance of this issue goes beyond the classroom. It is about national development, national identity, and national aspirations. And as the students have emphatically argued, it is also about class and social inequality. This is why the matter of language of instruction in schools awakens latent passions that lie deep down our hearts.

Thus far the debate has been restricted to the merits and demerits of English as the language of instruction from Standard One. What has not been discussed yet is the process the Ministry of Education has used to come up with the declaration, in the first place. While the main justification for the declaration, as quoted in the media, has centred around the importance of spoken English and grammar, that is not the whole story.

Young children exhibit remarkable creativity

As the Minister of Education, Dr. Lucius Kanyumba explained, the declaration is based on the New Education Act, 2012, which replaced the old Education Act of 1962. The process to come up with the New Education Act goes back to 2002, when the Ministry of Education requested the Law Commission to review the 1962 Education Act and come up with a new one. In August 2003 the government instituted the Special Law Commission, which undertook the task of reviewing the country’s laws.

The Special Law Commission embarked on wide consultations, including inviting submissions from various stakeholders on various aspects of the country’s laws. The issue of language of instruction in public schools came up during these consultations. A larger debate was going on amongst Malawians on the place of Chichewa as the national language, and the effects of having a national language on minority languages. There were those who argued that rather than having a Malawian language as a national language, giving it superiority over other languages, English would be an ideal alternative as a neutral foreign language.

By the time the Law Commission finished its work in 2010, it had drafted the New Education Act. The Commission issued a report titled “Report of the Law Commission on the Review of Education Act”, which was released in March of that year. One of its recommendations was the use of English as the language of instruction in schools. The report was silent on the rationale for this recommendation.

The issue of language of instruction is found in Section 78 of the New Education Act, which has two subsections 1 and 2. Subsection (1) is unequivocal in mandating English as the language of instruction. However it does not mention that this should be from Standard One. Subsection (2) is less unequivocal. It says “Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Minister may, by notice published in the Gazette prescribe the language of instruction in schools.” The use of the word “may” is somewhat circumspect, but the Minister has obviously used powers vested in his office to make the prescription, including the declaration that this should start in Standard One.

In making the declaration, the Ministry of Education has pleased sections of Malawian society who use proficiency in spoken English as a proxy for quality education. But this prescription goes against global trends and volumes of research findings that argue for the importance of mother tongue in the development of cognitive skills. That said, it is understandable why many parents view good spoken English as representative of quality education. There is a lot of prestige attached to English, and it gives one a global passport. It is an important language that bestows glamour on those who speak it.

What gets buried inside the debate is the recommendation for bilingual instruction, the practice of teaching in the mother tongue while introducing one other or more languages. The Chancellor College students are very right in arguing that children who develop a deeper functionality in their first language find it easier to learn a second language.

Teachers and lecturers in our secondary schools and universities are observing a trend in which students from private schools speak perfect English, but their reasoning, writing and problem-solving skills are not well developed. This is even as the Independent Schools Association of Malawi (ISAMA) is reporting reporting that 80 percent of students selected to Malawian universities are coming from private schools.

Language researchers have also found that children who speak more than one language exhibit better academic performance than children who know only one language, regardless of what that language is. This is why our language of instruction policy needs to promote multilingualism, and not monolingualism. Just a generation ago most Malawians were multi-lingual, speaking two or more languages on average. Today’s generation knows two languages, English and Chichewa, on average. If we do not enact policies to develop our local languages, the coming generations of Malawians will be reduced to only one language, English.

Monolingualism encourages insularity, a restricted worldview in which the only knowledge available to one is from one linguistic source. The danger with the new policy, as it stands, is the damage it can potentially cause to Malawian languages. The new policy will mean that as a country we will allocate more resources to English at the expense of nurturing and developing local languages.

Language familiarity facilitates expression in children

As the students have eloquently argued, this will benefit the children of the elites while disadvantaging children from poor families. But it must also be pointed out that this inequality is already prevalent with children of wealthy Malawians able to attend better schools than children of poor Malawians. Those of us who went to school in the 1970s and 1980s had Chichewa as the language of instruction in the early standards. We learned English as a subject. And our English proficiency has turned out to be alright.

Contrary to popular opinion, all languages have an inherent capacity to evolve and grow. Human knowledge has developed from the thousands of languages spoken across histories and geographies rather than from one language alone. Languages grow based on how much knowledge is generated in that language, and how much resources are being allocated to it.

Language is more than communication. It is about identity and cultural pride. It is also about national development. One key reason why our country registers slow growth and development is because new research and knowledge are predominantly in a language only few Malawians use. Our local languages are deprived of new knowledges which remain beyond the acquisition of the majority of our people.

The majority of our people remain poor and disempowered because they are denied an opportunity to participate in knowledge-making processes due to language policies that denigrate a core aspect of our identity. It is for these reasons that we must come up with language policies that promote greater knowledge-making, national confidence and civic participation amongst our people, without depriving them of knowledge available through foreign languages. This is why we must promote multilingualism, and not English only.

Note: A version of this article appeared in the Sunday Times edition of Sunday 23rd March, 2014