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Identification of Groups of Secondary School Teachers Who Leave the Teaching Profession in Malawi

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Identification of Groups of Secondary School Teachers Who Leave the Teaching Profession in Malawi Field Report No.3 Identification of groups of secondary school teachers who leave the teaching profession in Malawi Dr. Maxwell Nkhokwe, Mr. Felix Ungapembe and Mr. Norihide Furukawa* Abstract Teacher loss is rampant in Malawian secondary schools, resulting in depletion of skilled and experienced teachers and consequently compromising student learning outcomes. Using a mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches, the study gathered data from different practitioners. Analysis of the findings reveals that there are three categories of teachers who tend to voluntarily leave teaching on various grounds. Unqualified teachers who have not received an in-service training to acquire a professional qualification in teaching leave because they are denied access to certain benefits professionally trained teachers get from the education system. Newly recruited teachers leave because of their inability to cope with the school conditions. Teachers who did not initially choose teaching for their college training leave because they are not committed to the profession. This study proposes improvements in teacher training and management to attract and keep quality and trained teachers in the secondary schools. Further research is, however, needed to establish the significance of these issues in the context of Malawi. Keywords: teacher loss, policies, leadership, in-service * About the Authors Dr. Maxwell Nkhokwe : JICA Malawi Office ([email protected]) Mr. Felix Ungapembe : Ministry of Education, Malawi ([email protected]) Mr. Norihide Furukawa : JICA Malawi Office ([email protected]) Acknowledgement This research was implemented under the “Program for Research Proposal on Development Issues” by the JICA Research Institute. Many thanks go to Ms. Masumi Okamoto, Ms. Yuka Kitamatsu, Mr. Shinichi Ishihara, and Dr. Jun Kawaguchi for their technical support. Special thanks go to the management and staff of the JICA Malawi office for their moral support during the entire period of the study. The opinions expressed and arguments employed in this paper are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of JICA. 1 Field Report No.3 1. Introduction Increasing equitable access to quality and relevant secondary education is one of the Government of Malawi’s objectives for education. But persistent loss of quality teachers threatens the delivery of quality secondary education. This study illustrates how shortcomings in pre-service or in-service training as well the management of the teachers push certain groups of teachers out of the schools. One of the missing elements in the effort to improve access to quality secondary education in Malawi is a realistic strategy for teacher supply amidst the persistent loss of skilled and experienced secondary school teachers. The supply of teachers has failed to keep pace with demand, which is aggravated by the growing enrollment of learners in the secondary schools (Teachers’ Union of Malawi 2007). This problem could be one of the contributing factors to recurring poor student learning achievements in national examinations. The World Bank (2010) observed that in Malawi academic performance across the board is very weak, particularly in areas of science and technology, because of poor teaching and learning. This can partly be attributed to the shortage of teachers in the schools. This study investigated the types of secondary schools teachers who tend to leave the teaching profession. Analysis of the findings reveals three groups of teachers that usually leave teaching in large numbers. The study found that teachers who do not have any formal professional training in teaching and have not been exposed to any in-service training to equip them with the necessary pedagogical skills are most likely to leave the teaching profession. Teachers who are newly trained and deployed to the schools stay for a short period of time because they fail to cope with the school conditions for a number of reasons, one of which is the failure of training institutions to fully prepare them for the difficult conditions present in most of the schools, especially in the rural areas. Teachers who did not originally choose teaching for their college training constitute another group of teachers that usually leave the teaching 2 Field Report No.3 profession. This is a group of teachers who are re-redirected from courses of their first choice to fill vacancies in teacher training programs. Although they become teachers, their commitment to the profession is not guaranteed. It is evident from these results that most of the issues that push the various groups of teachers out of the secondary schools originate from shortcomings in the both pre-service and in-service teacher training programs. This study suggests the need for strengthening teacher training programs to curb the problems that drive out quality teachers from the schools. 1.1 Background of the study Malawi is a landlocked country in south-eastern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique on the east and southwest, by Tanzania on the north and northeast, and by Zambia on the west and northwest. Lake Malawi, one of the largest and deepest lakes in the world, accounts for almost one-fifth of the country’s area. According to the United Nations, Malawi (2014), Malawi remains one of the poorest countries in the world, with a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.418 in 2012, ranking 170 out of 187 countries. Its life expectancy stands at about 54.8 years and the country is marked by high levels of vulnerability including poor nutrition. The country’s GDP was US$3.5 billion in 2014 with a per capita income of US$290. About 75 percent of the population of 14.8 million people, which is projected to grow to 30 million by 2030 (National Statistics Office [NSO] 2012) earns less than US$1.25 per day. Agriculture contributes 30 percent of the GDP and more than 80 percent of export earnings. Illiteracy levels are high, especially among women. About 40 percent of the population is ages 10 to 29, giving the country a vast human resource potential which can greatly contribute to national accelerated and sustained economic growth and development if this population is well-trained and utilized. 3 Field Report No.3 Expenditures for social services such as health and education have been low as a result of poor economic performance. Over the past few years, allocations to education have been below 20 percent of the national budget. In the 2014/15 financial year, the government allocated 17.7 percent of its budget towards the education sector (Ministry of Education, Science and Technology [MoEST] 2015). Within the education sector, secondary education gets the smallest share of funding. According to the sector’s performance report for the 2014/15 financial year, secondary education was allocated 14 percent while basic and higher education got 53 percent and 30 percent, respectively. The remaining 3 percent went to other functions within the sector. Figure 1. Secondary education as a proportion of recurrent education expenditures for various african countries 2011 Source: MoEST 2012a. Expenditure on secondary education in Malawi is the lowest among the countries presented in Figure 1. In 2011, Angola allocated the biggest proportion of expenditures, at 42.7 percent, to secondary education while Malawi allocated only 16.8 percent. These financial challenges make it difficult for the government to offer a robust secondary education in the country. The education sector is managed by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) which is responsible for the provision of primary and secondary schooling, and teacher training and continuing professional development. Administratively, the sector is 4 Field Report No.3 divided into six education divisions and thirty-four districts. Basic education consists of early childhood development, adult learning, out-of-school youth education and primary education. Primary education runs for eight years and is free. The official entry age is six. Secondary education is offered through conventional secondary schools, community day secondary schools, grants aided (faith-based) secondary schools, open and distance learning centers, and private and designated schools. Enrollment in the secondary education system has been increasing by close to 3 percent every year and the gender parity index, which has also steadily been improving over the past years, reached 0.88 in 2015 (MoEST 2015). A Malawi School Certificate of Education is awarded to learners who successfully complete the four-year cycle of secondary education. This certificate qualifies the graduates for tertiary or any post-secondary training. The length of training for post-secondary education programs varies (UNESCO 2010a). Depending on years of training, the graduate is offered a certificate or diploma, or a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate degree. Primary school teachers are trained at both private and public Primary Teacher Training Colleges. Secondary school teachers receive their training at institutions of higher learning, which are either public or private. The public pre-service institutions include Mzuzu University, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Domasi College of Education, and University of Malawi’s constituent colleges of Polytechnic and Chancellor College. Private institutions that produce secondary school teachers include African Bible College, Catholic University, Adventist University, Nkhoma University, and Livingstonia University. The estimated total output from these institutions was 499 in 2011 (MoEST 2012c). The number of teachers graduating from the various colleges is expected to rise because of an expansion that has taken place in most of these colleges as well as an increase in the number of institutions producing secondary school teachers. There are various channels through which one enters college for secondary school teacher training in Malawi. Some candidates are directly recruited from among secondary 5 Field Report No.3 school graduates. Others enter through an upgrading scheme which caters to unqualified or under-qualified teachers who want to upgrade their qualifications.
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