Coalition imparts budget tracking skills
In a bid to build community members’ knowledge on education-related issues, Civil Society Education Coalition (Csec) has trained mother groups and school management to track the education budget.
Speaking in an interview, Csec Act Together for Better Learning (Able) project officer Eunice Mbiya said there has always been a gap in how communities needed to address challenges in the education sector.
She said stakeholders lack knowledge about the Education Act, but at the same time they lack the capacity to follow up on education issues in the national budget.
“We would like the local actors to understand the contents, significance and responsibilities as articulated in the Education Act so that they can question authorities when things are contrary to what is expected.
“If they are conversant with the budget, there will be increased accountability and transparency which helps the learners to have quality education,” said Mbiya.
The project seeks to enhance civil society engagement in social accountability and access to information about school governance and performance to improve learning outcomes.
One of the participants, Pollina Nkhunga from Dzenza Zone, said the training will advance her knowledge and increase her confidence in engaging with authorities in the implementation of public policies.
Able, being implemented in Lilongwe and Mzuzu, is funded by the European Union and it is being implemented by Voluntary Services Overseas and other partners.
