Basic Education Sector Analysis Report
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BASIC EDUCATION SECTOR ANALYSIS REPORT - MALAWI - AUGUST 2012 JAPAN INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AGENCY (JICA) INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CENTER OF JAPAN INC. (IDCJ) HM JR 12-078 BASIC EDUCATION SECTOR ANALYSIS REPORT - MALAWI - AUGUST 2012 JAPAN INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AGENCY (JICA) INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CENTER OF JAPAN INC. (IDCJ) (Source: JICA, 2005) Note: Mwanza District was divided into Mwanza and Neno Districts. Map of Malawi Abbreviations AfDB: African Development Bank CBCC: Community-based Childcare Centre CDRF: Capacity Development Results Framework CDSS: Community Day Secondary School CERT: Centre for Educational Research and Training, University of Malawi CIDA: Canadian International Development Agency CPD: Continuous Professional Development CPEA: Coordinating Primary Education Advisor CSR: (Malawi) Country Status Report CSS: Conventional Secondary School DANIDA: Danish International Development Agency DAS: Development Assistance Strategy DCE: Domasi College of Education DEM: District Education Manager DEMIS: District Education Management Information System DEO: District Education Office DFID: Department for International Development, United Kingdom (UK) DIAS: Directorate of Inspection & Advisory Services DP: Development Partner DPG: Development Partners Group DPP: Democratic Progressive Party DSS: Direct Support to Schools DTED: Directorate of Teacher Education & Development ECD Early Childhood Development EDO: Education Division Office EDSA: Education Decentralization Support Activity EFA: Education for All EIMU: Education Infrastructure Management Unit EMIS: Education Management Information System EPDC: Education Policy and Data Center EQUIP: Education Quality Implementation Program ESIP: Education Sector Implementation Plan EU: European Union FBE: Free Basic Education FMR: Financial Monitoring Report FTI: Fast Track Initiative GDP: Gross Domestic Product GER: Gross Enrollment Rate i GIZ: Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit GNI: Gross National Income GoM: Government of Malawi HIV/AIDS: Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome IDA: International Development Association IDCJ: International Development Center of Japan Inc. INSET: In-Service Training IPTE: Initial Primary Teacher Education IQEM: Improvement of Quality Education in Malawi JCE: Junior Certificate Examination JFA: Joint Financing Arrangement JICA: Japan International Cooperation Agency JSR: Joint Sector Review MANEB: Malawi National Examinations Board MASTEP: Malawi Special Teacher Education Programme MDGs: Millennium Development Goals MDPC: Ministry of Development Planning and Cooperation MIC: Multi Indicator Cluster Survey MIE: Malawi Institute of Education MIITEP: Malawi Integrated In-service Teacher Education Programme MK: Malawi Kwacha MLG&RD: Ministry of Local Government & Rural Development MoEST: Ministry of Education, Science and Technology MoU: Memorandum of Understanding MPRSP: Malawi Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper MSCE: Malawi School Certificate Examination MTEF: Medium-term Expenditure Framework NESP: National Education Sector Plan NGO: Non-Governmental Organization NSO: National Statistical Office ODL: Open & Distance Learning ORT: Other Recurrent Transactions PCAR: Primary Curriculum Assessment Reform PEA: Primary Education Advisor PIF: Policy & Investment Framework PRESET: Pre-Service Training PSLCE: Primary School Leaving Certificate Examination SACMEQ: Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Education Quality SADC: Southern African Development Community SEMA: Senior Education Method Advisor ii SEST: Secretary for Education, Science and Technology SIP: School Improvement Plan SMC: School Management Committee SNE: Special Needs Education SWAps: Sector Wide Approaches SWG: Sector Working Group TDC: Teacher Development Center TSC: Teaching Service Commission TTC: Teacher Training College UDF: United Democratic Front UIS: UNESCO Institute for Statistics UNDP: United Nations Development Programme UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNICEF: United Nations Children’s Fund USAID: United States Agency for International Development WB: World Bank WBI: World Bank Institute WFP: World Food Programme iii iv Executive Summary Chapter 1: Outline of the Study As the target year of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Education for All (EFA) approaches, non-traditional forms of aid modalities such as SWAPs and general budget support are progressively tested and used in providing aid. In this context, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has commissioned a study to carry out a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the education sector in 13 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America 1 so that more strategic and effective programs/projects can be formulated. The purpose of the study is twofold: 1) to gather relevant data and information, analyze them, and to identify priorities in the education sector in each country, and 2) to propose how to improve the quality and the methodologies of JICA’s analysis on basic education. Chapter 2: Political and Socio-economic Situation in Malawi In 1994, the presidential election was held with multiple parties for the first time in Malawi. Since then, the country has enjoyed a period of relatively stable domestic political environment. In 2012, President Mutharika passed away unexpectedly and the then Vice President Banda became the new president. The major socio-economic indicators are: GNI per capita: USD 330 (current international $), GDP growth rate: 7.1%, population living below 1US$ per day: 65%, life expectancy: 53.5 years, and adult literacy rate: 74%. Chapter 3: Educational Policies and Reforms The national education policy, the Policy & Investment Framework (PIF) for 2000 to 2015 was approved in 2002 in order to reach goals in education set forth in Vision 2020, a national long-term development strategy created in 2000, and to accomplish Education for All (EFA) goal) by 2015. The PIF has outlined 5 main objectives which are i) increasing access to education, ii) alleviating existing inequalities across social groups and regions, iii) maintaining and improving the quality and relevance of education, iv) developing an institutional and financial framework and v) increasing the sources of finance for the education sector such as the communities and the private sector (JICA, 2011). In order to achieve the goals of the PIF, the National Education Sector Plan (NESP) for 2008 to 2017 was prepared as a mid-term plan of the education sector. In addition, the Education Sector Implementation Plan (ESIP) for 2009 to 2013 was made to accomplish the goals set forth in each subsector of the NESP. According to some of the major NESP indicators shown in the ESIP Monitoring Plan, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) is seeking to achieve 88% net enrollment rate (NER) compared to 79% in 2009, 76.2% completion rate 1 The target countries are Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi, Zambia, Cameroon, Senegal, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. v (72.6% in 2009), 5% repetition rate (19.16% in 2009) and 0% dropout rate (8.42% in 2009), all in primary education by 2013 through implementation of the ESIP. Chapter 4: Status and Challenges of Basic Education Sector Development [Access] With the adoption of the free primary education policy in 1994, the enrollment of primary education from Standards 1 to 8 increased drastically, achieving as high as 126% for primary education gross enrollment rate (GER) and 110% for primary NER2 in 2011. However, many challenges remain. For example, due to high repetition and dropout rates, the GER of Standards 5 to 8 is less than half of those of Standards 1 to 4. The secondary education has showed low GER of 18.9%. [Internal Efficiency] Promotion, repetition and dropout rates are worst in Standards 1 in the primary education. The education system does not allow automatic promotion. When pupils do not pass the promotion exam or teachers judge a pupil does not reach the certain learning level, then he/she is requested to repeat the same grade. This is considered to be a factor to the low promotion rate and high repetition rate. Malawi's primary education repetition rate in 2009 was very high at 18.8% compared to other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. In secondary education, the dropout rates are also high because of difficulties in paying school fees, marriage and pregnancy. [Equity] In terms of access to primary education and its learning achievement, boys have higher completion rate than girls by 14%. The gender parity index (GPI) showed that girls have better enrollment than boys to primary education, but boys have better to secondary education and the gap widens in upper grades. On the other hand, the primary completion rate in urban areas is 34 %-point higher than that of rural areas. The completion rate of pupils in the highest income group out of five income level groups was 44 %-point higher than that of the lowest income group. Therefore, it can be concluded that the income and urban/rural gaps are wider than the gender gap. [Learning Outcomes] According to the statistics of UNICEF, the completion rates of Standard 8 was 66.8% (boys 65.4% girls 68.1%) in 2010 showing improvement by 8 %-points from 2005. The completion rate of lower secondary education in 2010 was 32.5%. In the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Education Quality (SACMEQ) III assessment in 2007, Malawi was 15th of 15 countries in reading