(u) Direct grants to enable school based improvement planning and management thereby
reinforcing decentralization.
76. For secondary education, Government encounters the following challenges:
(a) inadequate access to secondary education with emphasis on special needs students,
orphans and needy ones;
(b) inadequate supply of qualified teachers, especially in Community Day Secondary Schools;
(c) inadequate basic infrastructure and teaching and learning materials;
(d) low funding to the secondary sub-sector, especially CDSS receiving less resources than
government and grant secondary schools;
(e) poor retention especially for girls due to long distance to school and unfavourable gender
environment among others;
(f) partial implementation of the curriculum which in turn affects negatively public
examination administration and results;
(g) poor learning achievement with only around 50% of students passing end-of-cycle
examination;
(h) inefficient use of existing resources such as infrastructure, time and staff;
(i) negative impact of HIV/AIDS on teachers and students; and
(j) lack of financial prudence, management and information systems thereby compromising
standards.
77. In response to these challenges, Government intends to increase secondary school
enrolment and mainly girls participation to at least 50%; attain improved throughput at
Malawi School certificate of Education (O level) level from the current 38.6% in 2006 to at
least 65%. Government sees teaching staff to student increased in community day Secondary
Schools from 1:104 to 1:60. Overhead costs of secondary education shall also be reduced as
a result of increased enrolment and reduced boarding subsidy.
78. For teacher education both at primary and secondary school level, Government shall
increase the supply of teachers with a bias towards increased female throughput for both
primary and secondary schools by at least 35% and mainstream special needs education in at
least half of the teacher training colleges. Government shall also institutionalize In-Service
Training (INSET)/Continuous Professional Development for Teachers in the education
system and increase and rationalize use of teaching staff.
23 | P a g e