Introduction
Many low-income countries are making remarkable progress as far as universal access to primary education is concerned. However, concerns have been raised about students gaining very little knowledge (Altinyelken & Hoeksma, 2021). Stakeholders are concerned that many children still lack basic numeracy and literacy skills even after taking a couple of years learning. Such a sluggish beggining to learning means that most learners fail to comprehend essential competencies (Altinyelken & Hoeksma, 2021). For example, reports indicate that less than 7% of learners in senior primary school are competent in reading. Less than 14% are competent in math (World Bank, 2018). While education is an essential catalyst for economic and social development, its impact will be minimal if learners do not gain any basic competencies. Malawi is among the countries in Africa where the quality of primary education is wanting. This proposal examines the primary education quality in Malawi and the social and economic impact the quality has had. Interventions to enhance the quality of education are outlined.
Malawi’s Contextual Background
Malawi is situated in the southeast of Africa. Recent statistics indicate that the country’s population has been increasing rapidly and currently stands at 17.5 million. The most significant chunk of Malawi’s population is children and young people (39.5%) (Altinyelken & Hoeksma, 2021). Up to 70% of the people in Malawi live below the poverty line. This makes it one of the poorest nations worldwide. The country’s economy is mainly agricultural-based, with up to 80% of citizens relying on agriculture for their livelihoods (Altinyelken & Hoeksma, 2021). The official language in Malawi is English, while Chichewa is the national language.
About 80% of children in Malawi learn in public schools. Primary-level education is free under a program initiated by the government in 1994. In secondary school, learners have to pay the tuition fee in public and secondary schools (Altinyelken & Hoeksma, 2021). Public secondary schools fall into community day schools, district schools, and national schools (Altinyelken & Hoeksma, 2021). The schools in the different categories differ in funding, origin, student performance, and even catchment areas. The national schools in Malawi also go by the name “Conventional Secondary Schools”. They are relatively fewer but have a nationwide catchment area (Altinyelken & Hoeksma, 2021). The national schools also have better facilities and mostly enroll children from well-to-do families. The national schools enroll top students in the “Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education” examinations. Most of the students who transition into institutions of higher education study in the national schools.
District schools, on the other hand, usually offer boarding facilities. This results from the dispersed population distribution and the poorly developed infrastructure across the country. The “Community Day Secondary Schools” admit the third tier of students, namely those who did not perform well in the primary leaving exams and come from low-income families (Altinyelken & Hoeksma, 2021). Students who get admitted to colleges and universities after going through these schools are very few despite the schools making up almost a half of the total number of high schools in the country.
Despite Malawi’s relatively higher poverty levels and the increasing pressure on the system of education due to rapid population growth, access to primary education is relatively higher than the average rate in sub-Saharan Africa (Altinyelken & Hoeksma, 2021). Estimates show that due to the implementation of the “free primary education” program, nearly all children aged six years are in school (Altinyelken & Hoeksma, 2021). Nevertheless, just 38.4% of primary school learners transition from primary school to secondary school level (Altinyelken & Hoeksma, 2021). The overall enrollment rate in secondary schools remains relatively low, with 2017 estimates indicating 17% (UNICEF, 2019).
Another major issue with the Malawian education system is that classrooms are often overcrowded. At the primary level, a classroom holds an average of 111 students (Altinyelken & Hoeksma, 2021). As a result, learning outcomes are low since children in Malawi show significantly weaker reading and math scores when compared to children from neighboring countries. Data collected in 2012 show that for students between the 4th and 8th grades in Malawi, only 22% showed proficiency in writing and reading (Altinyelken & Hoeksma, 2021). Apart from the poor learning results, Malawi also experiences high repetition rates among primary school-going children and a low survival rate. These statistics are worrying and indicate that the primary education quality in the country is poor.
Malawi’s contrasting performance with respect to quality and access can be inferred from the significant increase in the number of children enrolling in primary schools starting from 1994. At the start of the “free primary education” program, most of the attention was directed toward sustaining the high influx of students by setting up more primary schools (Altinyelken & Hoeksma, 2021). However, the government has not been able to avail enough infrastructure, adequate resources, and a sufficient number of competent teachers. As a result, serious quality concerns have emerged, and these concerns mainly impact schools serving learners from low-income families. The enrollment numbers have been increasing over the years, the main driving factor being the rapidly growing population. Nevertheless, access is not equally spread, a factor that has led to vulnerable minorities being left out.
The Challenges in Malawi’s Primary Education Sector
Malawi’s education system, especially primary education, grapples with significant challenges, including inadequate infrastructure, a limited supply of qualified teachers, and insufficient learning resources. Overcrowding in classrooms is a common problem in many primary schools, with the student-teacher ratio (PTR) varying between 50 to 160 from one district to another (National Planning Commission, 2021). This has had numerous undesired implications for studying. For instance, at least four learners have to share a textbook across all grades. Classroom resources and infrastructure have been cited as important reasons for the attrition of learners and absenteeism (Ravishankar et al., 2016). There is also a significant variation in PTR by class levels. The lower-primary class levels have the biggest PTRs, the main contributing factor being the dramatic increase in student enrollment into primary school after the government made primary schooling free.
Class size is an important challenge in Malawi’s primary, especially in light of the high PTR. Nevertheless, available evidence shows that the effectiveness of teachers could also be enhanced. It is reported that currently, the teachers lack the knowledge required to teach critical reading and problem-solving skills beyond the standard six levels (National Planning Commission, 2021). The lack of prerequisite knowledge among primary school teachers is likely to contribute to up to 75% of learners, indicating that they feel like they do not learn much in class (National Planning Commission, 2021). Estimates show that the teachers take fewer than four hours in class and spend about 20% of the time allocated to teaching on other tasks (Ravishankar et al., 2016). Another major issue contributing to the poor primary education quality in the country is chronic teacher absenteeism (National Planning Commission, 2021). While there are varying reasons why teachers miss school, they cite the distances they have to cover between their homes and schools as an important concern.
Other than the high PTR, many primary schools in Malawi have most of the classes held outside, especially in the lower grades. Conducting classes outdoors can negatively impact learning because learners are compelled to learn in harsh conditions such as poor weather. It is estimated that lower-primary students have to learn outdoors in 1 out of 3 primary schools in the country (National Planning Commission, 2021). This usually results in the cancellation of classes when it is scorching and raining. Students in lower grades (1-4) tend to be allocated outdoor classes more often than in senior grades. This could be due to higher enrollment rates in lower primary, making it hard to fit them into tiny classrooms.
Rainfall is an important challenge to outdoor learning in the country. The rainy season usually falls between December and March. The period overlaps with the final days of term 1 and entirely with term 2 of the school calendar. Children are often forced to leave school early when it starts to rain. Some students often fail to attend school if it starts to rain in the morning. Additionally, the hot sun and getting exposed to elements such as dust and wind create less-optimal learning environments. All the highlighted challenges have contributed to poor learning outcomes for primary school children in Malawi.
Programs that are Currently in Place to Address the Challenges
The government of Malawi and several non-governmental and governmental organizations have put in place programs that seek to promote the quality of education in the country. One such program is the “Basic education programme” (BEP) by the “German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development” (BMZ). The program has its basis on a properly functioning teacher training system. Under BEP, support is given to monitor and evaluate the process of educating teachers and strengthening capacities (GIZ, 2022). There are four main areas of focus under the program, one of them being “the development of internal and external evaluation systems for the attainment of the National Standards of Teacher Education (NSTE) at all eight public TTCs” (GIZ, 2022). Other areas of focus are enhancing capacities for implementing the revised curriculum, availing learning and mentoring support to student-teachers on teaching practice, and incorporating ICT as a learning and teaching tool.
Proposed Interventions
Construction of Additional Classrooms
Indoor classrooms provide shelter to learners and teachers, protecting them against elements such as rain and sunshine. There is adequate evidence showing that investing in classroom infrastructure can help enhance learning and learning outcomes (Dunga, 2016) as we propose that an extra 1000 classrooms be constructed across the country. With more classrooms, more students will be able to go about their studies under a roof. We project that the learning outcomes for lower primary students will improve if the number of those taking their classes outside is reduced. We estimate that constructing a single classroom will cost approximately $ 25,400. With more students learning indoors, we expect benefits such as reduced absenteeism, better student-teacher interaction, and improved test scores in reading and math.
Providing In-service Training for Teachers
Interventions that target professional development vary with respect to delivery methods and content. Under the proposed intervention, the focus will be on early-grade foundational mathematics skill instruction. In-service training of primary school teachers is particularly critical since up to 48% of the teachers are reported not to be adequately qualified (Mkandawire, Luo, & Maulidi, 2018). Teachers who are professionally trained can positively impact the learner’s test scores and their general life outcomes. The proposed intervention will entail an activity that will run for three years, and which will avail primary school tutors with lesson plans together with foundational numeracy skill training.
The intervention targets to reach up to 40,000 teachers every year. The approach, which will be ongoing and subject-specific, will follow the current best practices in the professional development of teachers. We estimate that the training per teacher will cost about $ 540. The main benefit of in-service training is that teachers will become more competent. A high number of competent and adequately skilled teachers is expected to translate into better learning outcomes for primary school students.
Conclusion
The main objective of the proposed project is to improve the quality of primary school education in Malawi. The country is among the poorest worldwide, and its education sector has been grappling with several challenges. These challenges include poor infrastructure, limited learning resources in schools, and less qualified teachers. Due to these challenges, primary school education in Malawi is poor. Education stands out as an essential catalyst for economic and social development. A compromised quality, as is the case with Malawi, implies that the impact of education on learners and the economy as a whole will be limited. Just 38.4% of primary school learners manage to transition from primary school to secondary school level. Additionally, Malawian students tend to perform poorly in reading and writing compared to students from other African countries. In this project, two interventions are proposed: building more classrooms and providing in-service teacher training. Constructing an additional number of classrooms will help reduce overcrowding and outdoor learning, negatively impacting learning outcomes. In-service training of teachers will help ensure that the primary school teachers have the necessary skills and qualifications to impact learners positively.
References
Altinyelken, H. K., & Hoeksma, M. (2021). Improving educational quality through active learning: Perspectives from secondary school teachers in Malawi. Research in Comparative and International Education, 16(2), 117-139.
Dunga, S. H. (2013). An analysis of the determinants of education quality in Malawi: Pupil reading scores. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences. doi: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n4p337
GIZ. (2022). Improving Basic Education in Malawi. Retrieved from https://www.giz.de/en/worldwide/20110.html
Mkandawire, M. T., Luo, Z., & Maulidi, F. K. (2018). Does the University-Industry Link Affect Solving Challenges of the Job Market? Lessons from Teacher Education and the Ministry of Education in Malawi. Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development, 5, 2382120517738776.
National Planning Commission. (2021). Cost-benefit analysis: Improving the quality of primary school education in Malawi – Technical Report. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/GIDEON/Downloads/Improving-the-quality-of-primary-school-education-in-Malawi_v2.pdf
UNICEF (2019). 2018/19 Education budget brief. Towards improved education for all in Malawi. New York: UNICEF.
World Bank (2018). Learning to Realize Education’s Promise. Washington, DC: The World Bank Group.
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