2. Malawi: Primary education

2.1 Structure
2.2 General background
2.3 Statistical information
2.4 Teacher training

2.1 Structure

There are 8 years of primary schooling in Malawi, followed by 4 years of secondary schooling (see Appendix A). Children start school at the age of 6. However there is considerable variation in age within any year and children over 16 may occasionally be found in the first year, while some 40% of pupils in the eighth year are over 16.

2.2 General background

Some 93.4% of primary school children attend government assisted schools. Conditions in unassisted schools are overall marginally better (MOE, Education Statistics, 1989). Fees for primary schooling vary according to year and rural/urban location but in assisted schools do not exceed K7.5 (less than £2 pounds sterling) per year. In 1992-93 fees were abolished for Year 1. There are school examinations at the end of each primary year for promotion to the next year. Those who fail may repeat the year. At the end of primary school there is a national examination to select those who will continue to secondary school.

The transition rate from the last year (standard 8) of primary school to the first year (form 1) of secondary school is low. In 1988-89 it was 6.3% (MOE, Education Statistics, 1989: 33).

The medium of education is officially Chichewa for the first four years, with English taught as a subject (although the primary textbook New Malawi Arithmetic (n.d.) is in English from year 3, according to Mchazime, 1989: 3). From year 5 onwards English is the medium, and Chichewa is taught as a subject. According to the 1977 Malawi Population Census 77% of the Malawi population speak Chichewa (Government of Malawi, 1980 quoted in Chawani 1986). (It is not necessarily the mother tongue of all 77%.)

2.3 Statistical information

(Data source: MOE, Education Statistics, 1989)

Number of assisted primary schools:	2,041
Total number of pupils enrolled:	1,123,306

Between 14% and 25% of all primary school years consist of "repeaters", except for year 1 (46%). Girls make up 48% of pupils in year 1, falling to 33% by year 8.

In 1989 approximately 30% of the total enrolment was in year 1. (In the five schools visited in this project the percentage of pupils in year 1 was 27.76%.)

Primary Teachers in Assisted Schools:

	Male	Female	Total
Number of qualified teachers:	9658	5183	14841
Number of unqualified teachers:	1144	558	1702
Total numbers:	10802	5741	16543

The pupil-teacher ratio is 69.6 to 1.

2.4 Teacher training

Trained teachers in primary schools have for the most part been trained according to one of the following:

i) Teacher training colleges which offer a two year full-time course. There are seven such colleges.

ii) an intensive one-year full time programme (only offered at Domasi TT: scheduled to end in 1993, but may continue)

iii) a three-year sandwich course (vacations only) entitled Malawi Special Teacher Education Programme (MASTEP) run by Teacher Training Colleges during vacations.

Teachers gradings/qualifications are as follows:

T4:	Primary School Leaving Certificate (PSLC) + 2 years TT (phased out 1970)
T3:	Junior Certificate (JC, 2nd year secondary exam) + 2 yrs TT
T2:	Malawi Certificate of Education (MCE, 4th yr exam) + 2 yrs TT
T1:	(promotion grade especially for head teachers)

Diploma: from various sources (in 1989 there were only 30 such teachers in primary schools).