Professional Documents
Culture Documents
3 -- 6
7&8
=Ordinary pass
= Fail
GSCE
GCE O
1&2
3&4
5&6
Ed
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Notes
Malawi operates
on an 8 4 - 4
systems: Primary
School --8 years
Secondary School
--4 years
University
Bachelors
Degree--4 years
Pri
mar Primary
y
14
Sec
ond
ary
Secondary
School
12
15
18
Tert
iary
PostSecondary
Primary Education
The first 8 years of education in Malawi are compulsory. Children
enter primary school at age 6 where the first four years of teaching
are in a local traditional language. Thereafter, the medium of
education shifts to English for the balance of the Malawi education
program. Primary schools are distributed throughout the country.
Some are state-controlled, while others are privately operated,
usually by religious missions.
Secondary Education
Many secondary schools are boarding establishments where
discipline is form and uniforms are required. The period of education
is 4 years, after 2 of which students write the Malawi junior national
certificate. Two years further on a good pass in the Malawi school
certificate of education examination is required for entrance to
university.
Vocational Education
The technical, entrepreneurial and vocational training authority is
mandated by law to facilitate professional training throughout
Malawi. Its objective is to ensure a sustainable workforce, and
thereby promote the nations economic growth.
Tertiary Education
Access to tertiary education in Malawi is competitive because
classroom space is in under-supply. Few candidates are chosen for
university, although others may apply at teachers training colleges,
and also technical institutions. There are three universities in the
country, namely the Catholic University, Mzuzu University, and the
University of Malawi established in 1964 and illustrated here. Its
constituent colleges include Chancellor College, Bunda College of
Agriculture, The Malawi Polytechnic, Kamuzu College of Nursing,
and a College of Medicine where doctors are trained.
PrimarySchoolMostchildrenstartformaleducationatprimary
schoolattheageofsix.Theprimaryschooltakes8yearsfrom
Standard1to8attheendofwhichpupilswritethePrimary
SchoolLeavingCertificateexaminations.Thesearejointlyset,
conductedandmarkedbytheMinistryofEducationandthe
MalawiNationnalExaminationsBoard(MANEB).Students
havetopassandgetselectediftheyaretoattendsecondary
schooleducationinagovernementsecondaryschool.
TheintroductionofFreePrimaryEducationinMalawihasseen
alargeincreaseinthenumberofpupilsgoingtoprimaryschool
butthisincreaseinaccesshasalsobroughtmajorinfrastructure
problemsandabigdeclineinquality.
SecondarySchoolSecondaryschooleducationtakes4years
fromForm1toForm4.Studentscanattendseecondaryschool
inpublicschoolsrunbythegoivernmentorinprivateschools
runbytheprivatesectorandindividuals.Thequalityof
secondaryeducationvarieswidelyinnbothsetsofschools.In
generaly,fessinprivateschoolsismorethan50timesthatin
publicschools.Foralongtime,secondaryeducationwasvery
restrictiveinMalawibutthissituationischangingpositively
duetorapidexpansionofprivateschoolsaswellasgovernment
runcommunitydaysecondaryschools.Adirectoryofschools
inMalawiwillbepresentedhereinthenearfuture.
Studentsinsecondaryschoolssittwoexaminations,aJunior
CerticateExamination(JCE)atForm2andaMalawiSchool
CertificateExamination(MSCE)atForm4.Bothofthese
examinationsaresetbyMANEBbutjoiuntlyadministeredby
MANEBandtheMinistryofEducation.Performanceorpass
rateatMSCEhavebeenfallingsharplyinthelastfewyears
reachingalowofaround16%in1999promptingaPresidential
CommissionofEnquiryintothedismalperformance.Inthese
recentyearsMSCEadministrationhasbeenbesetwithmany
seriouscheatingcasesresultingingovernemnetcanncellationof
theexaminationin2000lessthanoneweekbefore
commencementofsittinganddismisaloftheheadofMANEB.
SelectiontakesplaceatForm4tovariouscollegesincluding
vocationalcolleges,technicalcollegesandtotheonlytwo
universities,theUniversityofMalawiandtheUniversityof
Mzuzu.
UniversityTheUniveristyofMalawi,openedin1965,offersa
widerangeofbachelorsdegreeandafewmastersdegree
coursesthroughits5constituentcollegeswidelyspreadoutin
theCentralandSouthernRegionsofMalawi.Therecently
openedMzuzuUniversitysituatedintheNorthenRegion,offers
aneducationdegreecoursebuthasplanstoopenotherareasof
traininginthenearfuture.MoststudentstotheUniversityof
Malawiaregovernmentsponsoredonfullscholarships.Thisis
changingin2001astheUniversityhasannouncedasignificant
increaseinfeesinameasuretoincreasecostsharingand
improveitsdwindlingresourcesthatcomefromgovernmentto
runitsprogrammes.TheUniversityofMzuzustartedoutwith
nearlyfullyeconomicfeesfromitsverybeginingin1997.
OtheroportunitiesdoexistinMalawiforchildrenwhoneedto
attendschool.Kindergartensareavailableinurbancentres
wherechildrencanattendpreschooltuitionintheages06
years.Almostallthesearerunbyprivateindividualsor
organisations.
AfewprivatehighschoolsareavailablemostlyinKasungi,
BlantyreandLilongwethatrunBritishstyleALevelcourses
andexaminations.Howevermostoftheserequirefeeswhichare
welloutsidethereachabilityofalmostallMalawians.