Education System Of Malawi

Malawi operates on an 8 4 - 4 systems:

Primary School --8 years
Secondary School --4 years
University Bachelors Degree--4 years
Language: The official language of instruction throughout the
Malawian educational system is English. Students may study in any
of the three major local languages for most of the first 4 years of
primary school after which English becomes the medium. The
national language, Chichewa and other languages like French are
taught as classroom subjects through at least the senior year in
secondary schools. All textbooks and materials are otherwise in
English.
Secondary School: Three types of institutions provide secondary
school education in Malawi. These are Government Aided Mission
schools, private schools and Distance Education centers also called
Day schools.
After two years of Secondary education, students write a national
exam called the Malawi Junior Certificate Examination (JCE). At the
end of secondary school, students write another national exam, the
Malawi School Certificate of Education Examination (MSCE). This
exam allows the student to choose to take examinations in a
minimum of six subjects and can take more, but it is the top six
that are counted towards the final score. The top score that a
student can receive on their MSCE is a 6, simply meaning that a
student scored perfect As in the entire six subjects, in this case
scores of 1s in all six subjects. Grading for the MSCE is
exceptionally tough. Less than 1% of the grades are 6 points or As.
Thus Bs and Cs can be quite competitive grades. MSCE results are
also used for selection of candidates for training courses and
employment. Students who do very well in MSCE and pass the
University of Malawi Entrance Examination are selected into
University Education.
Selection to University of Malawi is very competitive because places
are limited. Only a small percentage of successful candidates get
selected for University Education. Some successful candidates who
fail to get places at the University of Malawi find places in different

Teachers Training, Technical and other colleges for career training

courses. For those who do not enter any training college or school,
the MSCE is terminal. These seek employment or get into self
employment activities such as business.
Grading System: The MSCE has 9 grades, 1 being the highest and
9 the lowest. To qualify for an MSCE certificate, a student should at
least pass English and five other subjects, one of which must be at
a credit level. The MSCE results for each subject are graded on a
scale of 1 to 9. The significance of these grades is:
1&2

= pass with distinction

3 -- 6

= Pass with credit

7&8

=Ordinary pass

= Fail

A pass at grades 1 to 6 is equivalent to a pass at G.C.E ordinary

level etc.
The Malawi National Examination Board recommends the following
equivalence of MSCE grades to the GSCE and GCE grades.
MSCE
LEVEL

GSCE

GCE O

1&2

3&4

5&6

Marking of Exams: Marking of National Exams is done by

experienced subject teachers who are especially trained in marking

techniques. In Malawi, examinations are centrally marked under the

direct supervision of the Chief Examiner and Assistant Chief
Examiner. Before live marking of a paper takes place, each Chief
Examiner and his markers hold a standardization meeting. This
meeting discusses the question paper, question by question. The
marking scheme presented by the setter of the paper is amended
during the standardization process.
University Education: Tertiary education in Malawi is provided by
the University of Malawi, University of Mzuzu, Government training
colleges which offer courses in Teaching, Forestry, Agriculture,
Technical subjects and Secretarial skills, among others. Selection of
school leavers for university diploma or degree courses is done by
the University Office in Malawi. The following levels of academic
achievement are accepted as minimum entry requirements for
degree courses.
Ordinary Level: These are Malawi School Certificate of Education
(MSCE), the General School Certificate (GSCE), the International
General School Certificate (IGSCE), and the General Certificate of
Education (GCE) or their equivalents.
Advanced Level: At least grade C in three subjects preferred in the
faculty in which a candidate is applying. Admission is in year two of
the degree program. If however, a candidate does not posses the
required subjects but a minimum of three Cs, admission is in year
one.
The University has the following constituent colleges:
Chancellor College,
Bunda College of Agriculture,
The Malawi Polytechnic,
Kamuzu College of Nursing
College of Medicine. (This trains doctors)

Malawian university admission is highly competitive, especially in

the field such as medicine, engineering, and law
Admission Requirements: The minimum university standards for
admission are 6 credit passes which should include English.
Testing: The SAT is offered 5 times a year at 3 different locations.
The GRE is offered 4 times whereas GMAT is not offered at all in
Malawi. TOEFL is offered 6 times as well. All these tests are offered
as paper based tests in Malawi.

Education System in Malawi

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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.