Education Ministry launches second plan
In a bid to improve the learning environment for students and pupils, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology on Thursday launched the second Education Sector Implementation Plan (Esip II) to be implemented until 2018.
Speaking in Lilongwe during the education sector review meeting, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology Principal Secretary Lonely Magreta said Esip II responds to lessons from the Esip I which, she said, was “over ambitious”.
Said Magreta: “Esip I was beyond the human and financial capacity of the ministry. There is now a much greater coherence between sector analyses, priority policy identification and subsequent priority programmes, which allow us to focus on priority issues.”
She said the new plan is focusing on issues of access to learning materials and qualified teachers in all schools and adequate infrastructure in terms of classrooms and teachers’ houses.
Magreta said government will improve the number of qualified teachers through the normal teaching trainings.
“On construction of classrooms and teachers’ houses, we have decentralised the process by using Local Development Fund [LDF] so that district councils will be more involved and help to construct as many classrooms as possible within a short period,” she said.
Magreta acknowledged efforts from the donor community, civil society and private sector towards improving education standards in the country.
In her remarks, United States Agency for International Development (Usaid) acting mission director Stephanie Funk expressed worry that population growth is still putting pressure on Malawi’s ‘fragile’ education system.
