REIMAGINING EDUCATION: CREATING AN EMPOWERING EDUCATION SYSTEM IN MODERN MALAWI.
The Education Hub with Benedicto Kondowe
Even before the covid-19 upended the entire schooling system, Malawi was already facing formidable challenges in providing education for all as a fundamental human right. However, it is indisputable fact that the pandemic has not only caused an incomparable disruption in education but it has also aggravated pre-existing education disparities by reducing the learning opportunities for many of marginalized children, youth, and adults.
Without trivializing the impact of changes that the covid-19 crisis has wrought, we must not lose sight of all the gaps that were left unaddressed before the pandemic. The education sector has always been on the verge of collapse- dogged down by inadequate and poor infrastructure, unqualified teachers, high dropout rates and lack of frequent supervision. As we rebuild from the shocks and aftershocks of the pandemic, key questions for reviving the sector remain the same: What do we want to achieve, for whom, by when, and to what standards? These should inform the areas to keep in our current systems and where to innovate to realize SDG 4.
As much as the country is finally moving forward from the extended school closures, there is much more to be done in terms of preventing these the long term effects from becoming a generational education catastrophe. This requires urgent action from all stakeholders.
In the recently launched Malawi’s Vision 2063, the Tonse Alliance outlines education and skills development as a key enabler to achieve the country’s aspirations. Under this, the current administration acknowledges that education is an integral component of the development equation. The Tonse Alliance makes a commitment in making every child to go through Early Childhood and make it compulsory for every citizen to attain at least 12 years of formal education. The document also promises that every constituency in the country shall have well equipped and staffed primary and secondary schools. It highlights that availability, accessibility and quality of education at these levels shall be improved so that learning outcomes are equitable and the productive skills of the youth are developed. It further outlines the construction and expansion of disability friendly and gender sensitive school physical infrastructure at all levels with the aim of enhancing the availability of and access to education.
All these ambitions are commendable and very welcome, however a plan is only as good as its implementation. Administrations past and present have exhibited tendencies of poor governance and general nonchalance when it comes to delivering on their promises. If we are indeed to recreate a system that is not only viable but also resilient and up to the requisite standards, there is need for great political will, urgency and total reform to take on the challenge of fixing the long-broken delivery strategies and actualize vision 63.
In its policy brief: “Education during COVID-19 and beyond” of August 2020, The United Nation call on States to step up their efforts towards building back better: focus on addressing learning losses and preventing dropouts, particularly of marginalized groups; offer skills for employability programmes; support the teaching profession and teachers’ readiness; expand the definition of the right to education to include connectivity; remove barriers to connectivity; strengthen data and monitoring of learning; strengthen the articulation and flexibility across levels and types of education and training.
This is an enormous work that requires level-headedness, dedication and will to recreate a post covid -19 education system that is competitive and relevant for the present and future generations.
The recent Ministerial Statement that was presented in Parliament on the 16th of March 2021, the Ministry well acknowledged that the level and quality of educational development has not been adequate. The statement attributes this mainly to issues of poor funding and even poorer governance. In regards to the former, many strategic stakeholders have warned government on the dangers of having a larger portion of the educational development budget supported by donors.
Financing education was already daunting before COVID-19. According to the UN Policy Brief dated August 2020, it was estimated that the financing gap to reach Sustainable Development Goal 4 — quality education — in low and lower-middle-income countries was a staggering $148 billion annually. It is estimated that the COVID-19 crisis will increase this financing gap by up to one-third. This is to mean that if governments do not engage in their own resource mobilization initiatives the education sector shall be drastically under-funded in the coming years.
However, that does not mean all hope is lost. Every cloud has a silver lining and the efforts made in a short time to respond to the covid -19 crisis in education systems remind us that change — no matter how big or small can be possible.
A promising future for education means that the nation needs to embark not only on reconstructed and enhanced modes of delivering quality education but also guaranteeing that all have access to this and no-one is left behind.
For this to happen, persons affected by a lack of resources to access an enabling environment to access learning need to be considered. Hence, the government and all its stakeholders need to strive to strengthen its strategies — be it by enforcing compulsory education, building accessible and adequate infrastructure and providing support at all levels so that even the most marginalized child in this country has an easy pathway into accessing quality education. This is doable in the short and long term if we redouble our efforts and reduce internal inefficiencies as well as financial wastages through fraud, corruption and mismanagement.
In regards to the quality of education, there is need to enhance teaching profession in new methods of delivery, including incentivizing the profession through clear career path progression, regular promotions, continuous professional development, institutionalization of interschool skill share programmes etc.
Teaching is not a lowly profession, it is a noble one: it forms the backbone of all other professions and as such, it should be treated with utmost respect and dignity.
This assertion is deeply rooted in research that many of us hold to be true: children learn best from people, not programs. While greater use of technology in education may be inevitable, technology will never replace a great teacher. In fact, a single teacher can change a student’s trajectory.
Hence, the foot print for reconstructing the present education system should start with re-engineering the school environment where motivated teachers become consistently ready to work. This should further be anchored in clarity of national values underpinning our education system.
The Quality Assurance Directorate should also become aggressive in enforcing the national education standards to facilitate quick gains. Government should be committed to rollout the Teachers Council of Malawi in an effort to professionalize the teaching profession.
The EduHub shares the Minister’s observation that the country’s own challenges have been made worse by the slow rate of technological adoption and uptake, most notably — online learning. This is why it is commendable that the two new directorates for technology and innovation and ODL should be meaningfully support to move into the digital age and catch up with the rest of the world. There is need for stronger efforts in integrating information communication technology in all subsectors of education to enhance learning. Whilst remote, online and broadcast learning is rarely a substitute for face-to-face learning, it must however be acknowledged that these fast compliment access to education. Therefore, adoption of technologies is not itself panacea, but more crucial is to incorporate them in ways that improve access and quality.
It is a sad tell that universities that ought to promote excellence in technological advances remain as challenges as primary and secondary schools. The majority can neither administer coherent online classes nor conduct online graduation.
The agenda of reconstructing our education system might seem daunting but we have already come a long way as a nation. Borrowing a lesson from the popular proverb, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is now”, it is imperative that we seize the opportunity to find new ways to address the education crisis and bring about innovative solutions that help us recreate a flourishing education system. As we do all this, let us not place the marginalized groups such as a girls and learners with disability as the margin of our efforts.
