Programme description

Title: Improving basic education in Malawi
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Malawi
Lead executing agency: Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST)
Overall term: January 2002 to December 2012

Context

Since the introduction of free primary schools in 1994, there has been a considerable increase in the proportion of children attending school in Malawi. However, there has been a negative effect on the quality of education. The primary school system exhibits considerable deficits in relation to the quality of teaching, drop-out rates, repetition rates and pupils’ and teachers’ absence. The causes of this are a serious shortage of teachers, inadequate classrooms, unsuitable curricula and a lack of teaching and learning aids. The teachers are poorly trained and frequently absent and school administrations are inefficient. The pupils are often undernourished; they have to make a contribution to the family upkeep or suffer from diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria. The marriage of girls at an early age and damaging traditional practices such as female genital mutilation stand in the way of improved education.

Objective

The quality and efficiency of basic education in Malawi are improved.

Approach

The project advises the Malawian government on its educational policy. It supports the drawing up and introduction of a curriculum that has been revised from the points of view of methodology and content, the development of teaching and learning aids and the improvement of preparatory and in-service teacher training. In addition, educational services are drawn up and tested for school drop-outs.

In a joint programme with other international donors (sector-wide approach – SWAP), GIZ also supports the Ministry of Education in improving the performance of the education sector, decentralising the school administration and further developing national quality management.

Measures by KfW development bank and the GIZ (until December 2010 DED and Inwent) supplement the project. KfW development bank is rehabilitating and expanding six Malawian teacher-training colleges. The GIZ is supporting the management of these institutions through the placement of experts and is promoting the improvement of teaching quality by communicating learning-orientated teaching methods.

Results achieved so far

The newly-developed curriculum focuses on acquiring basic competences and practical skills. The proportion of pupils completing year eight increased by two percent between 2001 and 2007, rising to 37 percent. The drop-out rate fell by nearly half in the same period.

Teacher training has been significantly improved. A newly developed training system with theoretical and practical training phases was introduced to all state teacher training institutions in October 2005. More than ninety percent of students have met the requirements of the final examination after the first year of training. A new recruitment and employment procedure for primary schools is considerably reducing rural-urban differences in the distribution of teachers.

First successes are to be seen in non-formal basic education courses. Most participants have basic skills in reading, writing and arithmetic after the first year. The newly-developed approach was tested and modified in three pilot districts. From 2008 onwards, the non-formal system will be extended throughout the country in two phases.
In order to meet the Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education, a basic strategy is being developed for all activities in the sector by the Ministry of Education and its development partners. The development and implementation of this strategy are supported by conceptual advisory services in planning, organisational development and quality management.

A school meal programme, a quick-win initiative by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, reduces absenteeism and raises the enrolment rate. From November 2006 to March 2007, 147,000 children received a hot meal each day. The school meals halved pupil absences and led to a 15 percent increase in the enrolment rate. Drop-out rates were reduced by nearly four percent and the proportion of pupils proceeding to the next class increased by nearly one and a half percent. There have been binding national guidelines for school meals since June 2007.