G4G Program Manager, Aaron Lewani, sent us an article in Malawian publication The Nation, about local school conditions. A desperate lack of school blocks is forcing students to drop out of school and teachers to loose dedication to their work. Rodrick Salambula, head teacher at Matsimbe Primary School, said that students who are forced to learn under trees have a hard time concentrating in class, particularly when weather conditions are extreme.

“Learning under tree shades is a challenge” Mr. Salambula said.  ”Last year, a chalk board fell on pupils after strong wind blew it off and three pupils sustained various degrees of injuries.”

At its opening, Mlodza Primary School was meant to enroll only 960 pupils with 60 pupils in each classroom, but now has 5,308 students enrolled due to a fast growing population. This means that at a single school, 4,708 students are without access to an adequate learning environment and teachers have no choice but to hold class outside. 

The article also cites a range of other issues, including flooding toilets, limited institutional housing for teachers, and a lack of transparency and accountability among the education sector, as majors problem facing Malawi’s public school system. Teachers sometimes walk up to 15 kilometers to get to work, since many can’t afford minibus fares, and therefore often show up late to work or don’t show up at all. Such teachers feel that their contribution to the education sector is not appreciated. 

Regarding government funds allocated for the public schools, Executive Director of Christian Educator’s in Malawi, Lexon Ndalama, feels that a lack of transparency in the use of government funds compromises the quality of education. 

“Every year we are told the Ministry of Education is allocated huge sums of money but how the resources are used we do not know. Only a few schools benefit from such allocations, yet the money is meant to benefit all the schools in the country. “

Others agree with Ndalama and believe that the education budget has been misused in the past without the government accounting for it.