The Primary Education Expansion Program in Malawi
Project / Program Summary

1. Background and Overview
   
   Malawi, with one of the poorest economies in Africa, (GNP per capita US$170) is the most recent example of a country that has managed to achieve Universal Primary Education in a brief period of time with enrollments increasing from an estimated 60% of the primary school-age population to 135% in five years, 1993-1998. This has been achieved through a combination of political commitment and will on the part of the present government; positive donor response to requests for assistance; and active role of communities in contributing to school construction and in sending their children to school.
2. Primary Education in Malawi
   
   Whereas many neighboring countries in the Southern and Eastern Africa sub-region embarked upon programs of free primary education and prepared for massive expansion soon after they gained independence in the early sixties, expansion of Malawi's system was very slow. During the first two decades following independence, enrollments increased from 359,841 in 1964 to just over 1,000,000 in 1986/87; then somewhat more rapidly at about 9% per annum to 1,795,451 in 1992/93. Two years later enrollments had increased dramatically by about 60% to 2,860,819. Further increases led to 3,063,191 children being registered in 1997. Over the whole country enrollments increased by 71% between 1992/93 and 1997, the biggest percentage increase being in the Central Region -- 82%, followed by the South -- 75%, and the North -- 36%. Similarly the number of primary schools increased from 3,107 in 1992/93 to 3,924 in 1997. Following on the expansion the biggest challenges were pressure on classroom facilities, insufficient teachers and inadequate supply of instructional materials.
3. What Triggered Expansion of Primary Education?
   
   After thirty years of one-party rule a democratically-elected government came to power in Malawi and announced, in June 1994, that all primary school fees would be abolished as of the beginning of the new school year in October 1994. While demonstrating the new government's commitment to education and its political will to act on these commitments it created extreme pressures on an already weak system that even before expansion had a pupil-teacher ratio of 70:1 with 13% of teachers being unqualified and an average of 100 pupils crowding existing classrooms. To cater to this shortfall and to provide for future expansion Government estimated that it needed 38,000 new classrooms and at least 25,000 additional teachers. Faced with these daunting statistics the Government appealed to the donor community for assistance and the response was overwhelming. The chart below shows some of the main projects that are being supported by donors as part of this response.
4. The Primary Education Project
   
   The Bank-supported Primary Education Project (Credit 2810-MAI) is currently the largest project in primary education. It focuses on: (i) the construction of 1,600 primary classrooms and associated structures; (ii) pedagogical support and in-service teacher training particularly for newly-recruited teachers; and (iii) provision of teaching and learning materials. Progress made at the latest supervision mission in February 1998 indicated that:
   • full schools had been built and two were nearing completion,
   • shells of 194 classrooms and 87 ancillary buildings were completed, and tenders were being processed for a further 954 classrooms;
   • 8,000 teachers had completed their residential training course while 3,000 were undergoing it; and
   • 8 million notebooks and 3.5 million slates had been distributed to schools.
5. Outstanding Challenges
   
   To maintain enrollments, especially when educational quality is under serious threat; to maintain the strong social demand for education.

Ms. Eileen Nkwanga, and Mr. Peter Ngomba, tel 202 473 4905 task managers for the Primary education project and
Mr. Norbert Mugwagwa, tel. 202 473 38415 task manager for the Malawi Social Action Fund.