2023 EMIS Report Final

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
2023
MALAWI EDUCATION STATISTICS REPORT
EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (EMIS)

i
ii
Table of Contents
FOREWORD ..................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

PREFACE .......................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................ iii
List of Figures ..................................................................................................................................... vi
List of Tables........................................................................................................................................ x
Summary of Education Indicators ...................................................................................................... xii
1 PRIMARY SCHOOL EDUCATION ......................................................................................... 1
1.1 School Particulars .................................................................................................................... 1
1.1.1 Proprietorship and type of institution ............................................................................ 1
1.1.2 General Growth in Number of Schools ........................................................................... 2
1.1.3 Type of institution and school shift................................................................................. 3
1.1.4 Distance to the Nearest School, TDC, and DEM’s Office ................................................ 4
1.1.5 Location and Accessibility during the Rainy Season ....................................................... 6
1.1.6 Supervisory and Inspection Visits ................................................................................... 7
1.1.7 External Assistance and Community Participation ......................................................... 8
1.2 Pupil Information .................................................................................................................. 10
1.2.1 Enrolment ..................................................................................................................... 10
1.2.2 New Entrants................................................................................................................. 13
1.2.3 Vulnerability and Orphanhood ..................................................................................... 15
1.2.4 Special Needs Learners ................................................................................................. 17
1.2.5 Drop-outs ...................................................................................................................... 18
1.2.6 Returnees ...................................................................................................................... 19
1.2.7 Transfers ....................................................................................................................... 20
1.2.8 Deaths and dismissals ................................................................................................... 21
1.2.9 Primary School Leaving Certificate Examinations ......................................................... 21
1.3 Accountability and Transparency.......................................................................................... 23
1.4 Infrastructure and Sanitation Information ........................................................................... 25
1.4.1 Primary School Classrooms ........................................................................................... 25
1.4.2 Water and Sanitation .................................................................................................... 26
1.4.3 Source of Electricity ...................................................................................................... 29
1.4.4 Classroom furniture ...................................................................................................... 29
1.5 Teaching and Learning Materials .......................................................................................... 30
1.5.1 Learners’ Textbooks ...................................................................................................... 30
1.5.2 ICT in Primary Schools ................................................................................................... 31
iii
1.6 Teachers and support staff ................................................................................................... 32
1.6.1 Teachers ........................................................................................................................ 32
1.6.2 Teacher workload ......................................................................................................... 34
1.6.3 Teacher Houses ............................................................................................................. 36
1.7 Summary of Primary Education Indicators ........................................................................... 38
1.7.1 Access Indicators in Primary education ........................................................................ 38
1.7.2 Quality Indicators in Primary school ............................................................................. 40
1.7.3 Efficiency Indicators ...................................................................................................... 44
2 SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATION ................................................................................. 51
2.1 Secondary School Particulars ................................................................................................ 51
2.1.1 Secondary School Location ........................................................................................... 51
2.1.2 Secondary School Types ................................................................................................ 54
2.1.3 Number of Secondary Schools ...................................................................................... 55
2.1.4 Secondary School Types of Institutions ........................................................................ 55
2.1.5 School Shifts .................................................................................................................. 57
2.1.6 Location and Accessibility During Rainy Season ........................................................... 58
2.1.7 Supervisory and Inspection Visits ................................................................................. 59
2.1.8 Community Participation and External Assistance ....................................................... 60
2.2 Secondary School Student Information ................................................................................ 62
2.2.6 Secondary School Enrolment ........................................................................................ 62
2.2.7 Re-admitted students in Secondary Schools ................................................................ 67
2.2.8 Orphanhood and Vulnerability in Secondary Schools .................................................. 69
2.2.9 Student Bursaries in Secondary School......................................................................... 71
2.2.10 Special Needs Students in Secondary School................................................................ 72
2.2.11 Secondary School Repeaters ......................................................................................... 73
2.2.12 Secondary School Dropouts .......................................................................................... 74
2.2.13 Secondary School Transfers .......................................................................................... 76
2.2.14 Students dismissed and deaths..................................................................................... 77
2.3 Secondary School Streams .................................................................................................... 78
2.4 Secondary School Infrastructure and Sanitation Information .............................................. 79
2.4.6 Classrooms .................................................................................................................... 82
2.4.7 Availability of boarding facilities in Secondary ............................................................. 83
2.4.8 Furniture for Classrooms .............................................................................................. 84
2.5 Availability of Library ............................................................................................................ 88
2.5.6 Number of Useable special needs materials available by type .................................... 88
2.6 Water Sources in Secondary Schools .................................................................................... 89
2.7 Electricity Source................................................................................................................... 90
iv
2.8 Sanitation .............................................................................................................................. 91
2.9 Change Rooms and Incinerators ........................................................................................... 92
2.10 Secondary School Teaching and Learning Materials............................................................. 93
2.11 Secondary School Teachers................................................................................................... 94
2.11.6 Teachers by Location .................................................................................................... 98
2.11.7 Teacher Qualification .................................................................................................... 99
2.11.8 Secondary School Teachers Subject Majored/Qualified to Teach .............................. 101
2.11.9 Secondary School Teacher Grades .............................................................................. 103
2.11.10 Secondary School Teachers who have left the school ............................................ 103
2.11.11 Number Periods Per Week ...................................................................................... 104
2.11.12 Secondary School Teacher Additional Responsibility ............................................. 105
2.12 Summary of Secondary School Indicators .......................................................................... 106
2.12.6 Access Indicators in Secondary education .................................................................. 106
2.12.7 Quality Indicators in Secondary Education ................................................................. 108
2.12.8 Efficiency Indicators .................................................................................................... 112
2.12.9 Equity Indicator ........................................................................................................... 115
3 TERTIARY EDUCATION .................................................................................................... 117
3.1 Higher Education................................................................................................................. 117
3.1.6 Enrolment in Universities............................................................................................ 117
3.1.7 Staff in Universities ..................................................................................................... 119
3.2 Teacher Education .............................................................................................................. 122
3.2.6 Teacher Training Colleges for Public Primary Schools ................................................ 122
3.3 Technical schools ................................................................................................................ 126
3.3.6 Enrolment in Technical schools................................................................................... 126
3.3.7 Staffing ........................................................................................................................ 126
3.3.8 Special Needs Students ............................................................................................... 127
4 EDUCATION EXPENDITURE ............................................................................................. 128
4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 128
4.2 Recurrent Budget Allocations ............................................................................................. 129
4.2.6 Recurrent Allocation to Education Sector Programs for 2022/23 FY ......................... 130
4.3 Development Budget Allocations ....................................................................................... 131
4.3.6 2022/23 VOTE 250 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION BUDGET PERFORMANCE ................... 133
4.3.7 Budget and Funding Utilization................................................................................... 133
4.3.8 Primary Education Recurrent Unit Costs between 2016/17 and 2022/23 FYs ........... 134
4.3.9 Trend of Secondary Education Unit Costs between 2016/17 and 2022/23 FY........... 135
4.3.10 Major Education Sector Achievements in the 2022/23 by Programme ..................... 136
ANNEX I - MAPS ........................................................................................................................... 140
v
List of Figures
Figure 1: Percentage Distribution of Schools in Malawi .......................................................... 2
Figure 2: Number of Schools by Division by Proprietorship .................................................... 2
Figure 3: Growth in the number of primary schools ................................................................. 3
Figure 4: Percentage Distribution of School’s Shifts ................................................................ 4
Figure 5: Distance to the Nearest School ................................................................................. 4
Figure 6: Distance to the TDC by the Division ......................................................................... 5
Figure 7: Distance to the DEM’s office by Division ................................................................. 5
Figure 8: School Location ......................................................................................................... 6
Figure 9: Number of Schools by Location and their Accessibility during Rainy Season and
roadway material ....................................................................................................................... 7
Figure 10: Number of Schools Visited by a Primary Education Advisor (PEA’s) .................... 7
Figure 11: Primary Schools external assistance ....................................................................... 8
Figure 12: Distribution of Community Participation and status of activity.............................. 9
Figure 13: Frequency of Meetings for PTA, SMC, Mother Groups and Community Volunteer
.................................................................................................................................................... 9
Figure 14: Number of schools that have a school feeding program and Emergency plan ..... 10
Figure 15: Standard-Sex Structure for primary school learners............................................. 13
Figure 16: Distribution of New Entrants into Standard 1 by Sex for the past 5 years ........... 13
Figure 17: Distribution of New Entrants into Standard 1 by Age and Proprietorship ........... 14
Figure 18 : Number of Vulnerable Learners by Standard....................................................... 16
Figure 19: Number of Double Orphans in Primary Schools ................................................... 16
Figure 20: Number of Learners by Impairment by Gender ..................................................... 17
Figure 21: Number of Learners with Special Learning Needs from 2019 to 2023 ................. 17
Figure 22: Various Reasons for Learners Dropouts ............................................................... 19
Figure 23: Number of Learners Readmitted in primary schools by sex-by standard ............. 19
Figure 24: Trend in Number of Learners Readmitted in primary schools (2019 – 2023) ...... 20
Figure 25: Learner Migration ................................................................................................. 20
Figure 26: Number of Learners who Died and those who got Dismissed ............................... 21
Figure 27: Trend in Permanent classrooms from 2018 to 2023 ............................................. 25
Figure 28: Number of Classrooms available to each Standard .............................................. 26
Figure 29: Number of permanent classrooms with ramps ...................................................... 26
Figure 30: Number of Flush toilets and Pit Latrines .............................................................. 27
Figure 31: Disability Friendly Toilets and Urinal Blocks ...................................................... 27
vi
Figure 32: Number of Handwashing Facilities ....................................................................... 27
Figure 33: Number of Change rooms ...................................................................................... 28
Figure 34: Distribution of schools by Water Source ............................................................... 28
Figure 35: Distribution of sources of power ........................................................................... 29
Figure 36: Number of Classroom furniture for teachers and Learners .................................. 29
Figure 37: Number of Classroom furniture for SNE teachers and Learners .......................... 30
Figure 38: Teaching Staff - Reasons for leaving school.......................................................... 35
Figure 39: Trend in number of primary school teacher .......................................................... 36
Figure 40: Trend in gross Intake Rate 2019-2023 .................................................................. 38
Figure 41: Trend in Net Intake Rate 2019-2023 ..................................................................... 38
Figure 42: Gross Enrolment Rate 2019-2023 ......................................................................... 39
Figure 43: Trend in Net Enrolment Rate; 2019-2023 ............................................................. 39
Figure 44: Pupil qualified teacher Ratio by proprietorship and Location ............................. 40
Figure 45: Trend in Pupil Teacher Ratio and Pupil Qualified Ratio ...................................... 41
Figure 46: Trend in Pupil Permanent Classroom Ratio; 2019 - 2023 .................................... 42
Figure 47: Repetition Rates by Standard and Sex- 2023 ......................................................... 45
Figure 48: Repetition Rates by Standard in 2019 to 2023 ...................................................... 45
Figure 49: Trend in Survival Rates for Standard 5; 2019-2023 ............................................ 48
Figure 50: Trend in Survival Rates for Standard 8; 2019-2023 ............................................ 48
Figure 51: Transition rates by sex 2019-2023 ........................................................................ 50
Figure 52: Schools by Location ............................................................................................... 52
Figure 53: Number of Secondary Schools by Proprietor ........................................................ 52
Figure 54: Number of schools by school type ......................................................................... 54
Figure 55: Trend in Number of Open Day Secondary Schools ............................................... 54
Figure 56: Trend in the Number of Secondary Schools .......................................................... 55
Figure 57: Number of Schools by Type of Institution .............................................................. 56
Figure 58: Number of Schools by shift .................................................................................... 57
Figure 59: Activeness in Community Participation................................................................. 61
Figure 60: Secondary Schools external assistance ................................................................. 62
Figure 61: Percentage of Secondary School Enrolment by School Type ................................ 64
Figure 62: Number of Secondary School Learners by location and sex ................................. 66
Figure 63: Secondary school enrolment by division ............................................................... 66
Figure 64: Number of re-admitted students by form and sex .................................................. 68
Figure 65: Orphans by form, sex and type of orphan hood..................................................... 69
Figure 66: Vulnerable students by sex and type of vulnerability ............................................ 70
vii
Figure 67: Students who applied and received bursaries by form and sex ............................. 71
Figure 68: Students with special needs by type of disability ................................................... 72
Figure 69: Repeaters by form and sex ..................................................................................... 73
Figure 70: Percentage distribution of dropout reasons .......................................................... 75
Figure 71: Dropouts by form and sex ...................................................................................... 75
Figure 72: Number of students died and dismissed ................................................................. 77
Figure 73: Number of streams in Secondary School ............................................................... 78
Figure 74: Infrastructure by type ............................................................................................ 79
Figure 75: Number of Classrooms in use ................................................................................ 83
Figure 76: Availability of boarding facilities ......................................................................... 84
Figure 77: Available Student school furniture by form and type ............................................ 85
Figure 78: Available teacher school furniture by form and type ............................................ 85
Figure 79: Student special needs furniture in secondary schools by type ............................... 86
Figure 80: Damaged furniture in secondary schools by type.................................................. 87
Figure 81: Student Furniture required by type........................................................................ 87
Figure 82: Availability of library in Secondary Schools ......................................................... 88
Figure 83: Number of Useable Special needs material available by type .............................. 89
Figure 84: Type of water source .............................................................................................. 90
Figure 85: Functionality of water sources .............................................................................. 90
Figure 86: Electricity Source................................................................................................... 90
Figure 87: Sanitary Infrastructure .......................................................................................... 91
Figure 88: Hand washing Facilities ........................................................................................ 92
Figure 89: Teacher Distribution by sex ................................................................................... 96
Figure 90: Teacher Distribution by Proprietorship ................................................................ 96
Figure 91: Distribution of Teachers by Location .................................................................... 98
Figure 92: Trained and untrained teachers........................................................................... 100
Figure 93: Teachers highest level of education qualification ............................................... 100
Figure 94: Teachers by Sex And Grade ................................................................................. 103
Figure 95: Teachers’ Reasons for Leaving School................................................................ 104
Figure 96: Trend in gross enrolment rate ............................................................................ 107
Figure 97: Trend in Net Enrolment Rates for Secondary Schools ........................................ 108
Figure 98: Trend in Pupil Classroom Ratio .......................................................................... 109
Figure 99: Pupil qualified Teacher Ratio .............................................................................. 110
Figure 100: Student toilet ratio by sex .................................................................................. 111
Figure 101: Repetition rate by form and by gender .............................................................. 113
viii
Figure 102: Dropout rate by form and by gender ................................................................. 114
Figure 103: Trend of completion rates 2019- 2023............................................................... 115
Figure 104: Gender Parity Index by form ............................................................................. 116
Figure 105: Trend of Gender Parity Index, 2019-2023 ........................................................ 116
Figure 106: Number of undergraduates by proprietorship ................................................... 117
Figure 107: Trend in Undergraduates .................................................................................. 117
Figure 108: Number of Postgraduate students...................................................................... 118
Figure 109: Number of students enrolled in ODeL programs by Proprietor........................ 118
Figure 110: Number of Students in colleges.......................................................................... 119
Figure 111: Distribution of Academic Staff by sex by university proprietorship .................. 119
Figure 112: Distribution of Academic Staff by sex by level of education ............................. 120
Figure 113: Percentage of academic staff that hold PHDs ................................................... 121
Figure 114: TTCs enrolment by proprietor and sex .............................................................. 122
Figure 115: Public TTCs enrolment by sex ........................................................................... 123
Figure 116: Private TTCs Enrollment by Sex........................................................................ 123
Figure 117: Number of Teaching Staff by Sex ....................................................................... 124
Figure 118: Tutors by sex in Public TTCs ............................................................................. 125
Figure 119: Tutors by sex in Private TTCs ........................................................................... 125
Figure 120: Enrolment in Technical Colleges by proprietorship by gender......................... 126
Figure 121: Staff in Technical Colleges by proprietorship by gender .................................. 126
Figure 122: Special Needs Students in Technical Colleges by gender ................................. 127
Figure 123: Education Sector Recurrent Percentage Allocation by Program for 2022/23 FY
................................................................................................................................................ 130
Figure 124: Education Sector Development Budget Allocations by Program ...................... 132
Figure 125: Recurrent Unit Cost in primary Education between 2016/17 and 2022/23 FYs
................................................................................................................................................ 135
Figure 126: Trend of Unit Cost in Secondary Education between 2016/17 and 2022/23 FYs
................................................................................................................................................ 135
ix
List of Tables
Table 1: Proprietorship and type of school ............................................................................... 3
Table 2: Number of Schools Visited by Inspectors .................................................................... 8
Table 3: Number of Learners Proprietorship, Sex and Standard ............................................ 11
Table 4: Standard-Age Structure for primary school learners ................................................ 12
Table 5: Distribution of New Entrants into Standard 1 by Age Appropriateness and Sex ...... 14
Table 6: Proportion of New Entrants with ECD Background by Division and Sex ............... 15
Table 7: Dropout Proportion by District and Sex ................................................................... 18
Table 8: Primary School Leaving Certificate Examination results (Previous year) ............... 21
Table 9: Number of Learners Selected to Various Secondary Schools ................................... 22
Table 10: Training on PSIP, Availability of School Improvement Plans and Receipt of SIG . 23
Table 11: SIGs Reported to be received by public schools for 2022 academic year .............. 24
Table 12: Number of textbooks by standard ............................................................................ 30
Table 13: Pupil-Textbooks Ratios by Subject and Standard ................................................... 31
Table 14: ICT Lessons and Internet Connectivity in Primary Schools ................................... 31
Table 15: Teacher’s highest level of qualification by sex........................................................ 32
Table 16: Number of Teachers by Teacher Grade and District .............................................. 33
Table 17: Summary of teaching Periods in Primary School ................................................... 34
Table 18: Number of Teachers Houses by District and Anticipated gaps ............................... 37
Table 19: Pupil Qualified Teacher Ratio by District............................................................... 41
Table 20: Pupil permanent Classroom Ratio by District ........................................................ 43
Table 21: Pupil Textbook Ratio- Books in Good Condition-2023.......................................... 44
Table 22: Repetition Rates by district for primary school in 2022.......................................... 46
Table 23: Promotion Rates by District by Grade (Standard) .................................................. 47
Table 24: Primary Completion Rate ........................................................................................ 49
Table 25: Number of School by District and Proprietor ......................................................... 53
Table 26: Number of schools by Institution type .................................................................... 56
Table 27: Location of Schools by their Accessibility During Rainy Season by District.......... 58
Table 28: Number of Supervisory Visits .................................................................................. 59
Table 29: Number of Schools Visited by Inspectors ................................................................ 60
Table 30: Number of Students by Sex, proprietor, and form ................................................... 63
Table 31: Secondary school age distribution .......................................................................... 63
Table 32: Secondary Schools enrolment by district, form and sex .......................................... 65
Table 33: Secondary Enrolment by Subject ............................................................................. 67
Table 34: Number of re-admitted students by District ............................................................ 68
x
Table 35: Students with Impairment by Sex and Form ............................................................ 72
Table 36: Repeaters by form, sex and type of school .............................................................. 73
Table 37: Dropout by form, sex and reason ............................................................................ 74
Table 38: Distribution of Transfers’ in and out by district ..................................................... 76
Table 39: Number of streams by district.................................................................................. 78
Table 40: Permanent Buildings by Type and district .............................................................. 81
Table 41: Permanent Buildings by type and district ............................................................... 82
Table 42: Classroom in use by type and form ......................................................................... 83
Table 43: Girls and female staff change rooms and incinerators ........................................... 93
Table 44: Textbooks by subject and form ................................................................................ 94
Table 45: Number of Teachers by Sex ..................................................................................... 95
Table 46: Distribution of Teachers by District by Proprietorship .......................................... 97
Table 47: Distribution of Teachers by District by Location .................................................... 98
Table 48: Teacher Qualification by District .......................................................................... 101
Table 49: Teachers major subject to teach by sex ................................................................. 102
Table 50: Number of Periods Per Week by Subject and Form .............................................. 104
Table 51: Teachers Additional Responsibility by Sex............................................................ 105
Table 52: Student Classroom ratio by form ........................................................................... 109
Table 53: Secondary Pupil-Qualified Teacher Ratio by Subject ........................................... 110
Table 54: Secondary Text- book Ratio by subject ................................................................. 112
Table 55: Secondary completion rates .................................................................................. 115
Table 56: Enrolment in Technical colleges by Trade ............................................................ 127
Table 57: Trends on GDP Spent on Education in (Mk ''000,000,000'') ................................ 129
Table 58: Trends in Recurrent Allocation Total Government Recurrent Budget to Education
in (MK ''000,000,000'') .......................................................................................................... 129
Table 59: 2022-23 VOTE 250 Expenditure Analysis as of 31 ST MARCH, 2023 (in MK) ... 133
Table 60: Budget Performance for Development Project AS OF 30TH MARCH 2023 IN (MK
''000,000,000'') ....................................................................................................................... 134
xi
Summary of Education Indicators
ACCESS INDICATORS 2021/22 2022/23
Total Primary Enrollment 4,943,633 5,298,456
Boys 2,418,376 2,604,493
Girls 2,525,257 2,693,963
Total Primary Public-School Enrolment 4,783,093 5,120,080
Boys 2,339,456 2,516,869
Girls 2,443,637 2,603,211
Total Primary Private School Enrolment 160,540 178,376
Boys 78,920 87,624
Girls 81,620 90,752
New Entrants into Primary (standard 1) 620,848 661,014
Boys 309,663 335,298
Girls 309,163 325,716
Total Secondary enrollment 441,102 485,650
Boys 225,229 245,959
Girls 215,873 239,691
Total Public TTC Enrollment (IPTE) 8,970 7,154
Boys 4,725 3,371
Girls 4,245 3,783
Total Number of Primary schools 6,750 6,954
Public 5,860 5,878
Private 890 1,076
Total Number of Secondary schools 1,610 1,774
Public (government and religious) 1,259 1,350
Private 351 424
Open day sec Schools 327 419
Gross Intake Rate Primary 116.0 119.4
Boys 115.6 120.8
xii
Girls 116.4 118.0
Net Intake Rate Primary 75.9 79.4
Boys 74.1 78.8
Girls 77.7 79.9
Gross enrolment rate Primary 113.9 128
Boys 118.4 125.6
Girls 109.3 130.4
Net enrolment rate Primary 88.0 91
Boys 87.9 88
Girls 88.0 93
Gross enrolment rate secondary 24.3 26.1
Boys 25.4 27.1
Girls 23.1 25.2
Net enrolment rate Secondary 16.6 17
Boys 16.4 16.9
Girls 16.8 17.1
QUALITY INDICATORS 2021/22 2022/23
Pupil Teacher Ratio- Primary 59.0 61
Pupil Qualified Teacher Ratio- Primary 62.0 64
Pupil permanent classroom ratio- Primary 98.0 102.5
Pupil qualified Teacher Ratio (PqTR)- Secondary 32.3 34
Pupil qualified Teacher Ratio (PqTR)- Public Sec 34.1 28.1
Pupil qualified Teacher Ratio (PqTR)- Private Sec 26.6 48.8
Pupil permanent Classroom Ratio (PpCR)- Secondary 60.0 62.6
Pupil permanent Classroom Ratio (PpCR)- Public 70.9 62.6

Secondary
Pupil permanent Classroom Ratio (PpCR)- Private 41.7 62.7

Secondary
xiii
EFFICIENCY INDICATORS 2021/22 2022/23
Drop-out proportion primary 4.7 4
Boys 4.7 4
Girls 4.8 4
Drop-out proportion Secondary 5.9 5.0
Boys 4.5 4.06
Girls 7.3 5.99
Survival rate to Standard 5 62 69
Boys 59 66
Girls 64 71
Survival rate to standard 8 39 39
Boys 36 37
Girls 41 38
Completion rates Primary 56 48
Boys 57 46
Girls 55 50
Secondary completion rate 19.4 22.3
Boys 21.1 24.0
Girls 17.9 20.6
Transition rate to secondary 42.5 47.2
Boys 42.7 47.4
Girls 42.3 47.0
Repetition rate- Primary 25 26
Boys 26 27
Girls 24 26
xiv
EQUITY INDICATORS 2021/22 2022/23
Gender Parity Index (GPI) for primary enrolment 1.04 1.03
Gender Parity Index (GPI) for secondary enrollment 0.96 0.92
Percentage of SNE students (Primary) 3.3 3.7
Percentage of SNE students (Secondary) 2.1 2.3
BUDGET 2021/22 2022/23
Education budget as a percentage of national Budget 26 20
Primary education budget as a percentage of total 60 59

education budget
Secondary education budget as a percentage of total 13 12

education budget
Higher Education budget as a percentage of total 24 24

education budget
Management and Administration as percent of total 3 5

Education budget
xv
1 PRIMARY SCHOOL EDUCATION
Primary education forms the basis for all other levels of education and it is the sub-sector that
enrolls the greatest number of learners. To enable the sector to make informed decisions in
policy formulation and planning, the following indicators were collected;
• School Particulars
• Pupil Information
• Transparency and Accountability
• Infrastructure and Sanitation
• Teaching and Learning Materials
• Teaching and Support Staff
1.1 School Particulars
School particulars are all indicators associated with a school such as;
● Proprietor/Ownership
● Type of institution and school shift
● Distances to the nearest school, DEM’s office, and TDC
● School inspection and supervisory visits
● School Location - defined as rural and urban
● School Accessibility – refers to the accessibility of schools during the rainy season
1.1.1 Proprietorship and type of institution

The 2023 Annual School Census categorized proprietorship into public and private institutions.
Public schools are defined as institutions established by the government, community, and local
education authorities, these schools are fully supported by the government. On the other hand,
private schools are defined as institutions that were established by individuals or
institutions/organizations from the private sector and are run and supported by them. The Chart
below (figure 1) illustrates the number of schools that were captured in the 2023 Annual School
Census categorized by proprietorship.
1
Figure 1: Percentage Distribution of Schools in Malawi
15% Public: 5,878 (85%)
85%
Private Public
As seen in figure above, the larger proportion of primary schools are public representing 85%
of the total number of schools, followed by private schools which represent 15%. These figures
indicate that the Government plays the biggest role in providing primary education to the
Malawian population.
Figure 2: Number of Schools by Division by Proprietorship
1,600
Number of Schools
1,400
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
-
NED CWED CEED SEED SWED SHED
Private 76 457 72 78 341 52
Public 1,421 1,258 1,111 887 661 540
The figure above shows that the highest number of public schools were located in the Northern
Education Division (NED) followed by the Central-Western Education Division (CWED), while the
Shire Highlands Education Division (SHED) had the least number of public schools. However, the
highest number of private schools were located in CWED while CEED had the lowest.
1.1.2 General Growth in Number of Schools

The number of schools has steadily increased in Malawi as a whole and across the divisions
since 2019. The figure 4 below presents how the number of schools has been growing in the
last five years.
2
Figure 3: Growth in the number of primary schools
7,000
Number of Schools 6,000
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
-
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Public 5,710 5,770 5,806 5,860 5,878
Private 649 698 777 890 1,076
In the 5-year period from 2019 to 2023, the total number of schools have been increasing at a
steady annual rate of 2.3%. Between the years 2022 and 2023, the total number of schools
increased from 6750 to 6954 representing a percentage change of 3%. This growth is mainly
attributed to private schools (13.58%) while public school only accounts for 0.73% since 2019.
1.1.3 Type of institution and school shift
1.1.3.1. Type of institution
Type of institution is categorized as the type of school learners predominantly enroll i.e. boys
only, girls only, or co-education (both boys and girls).
Table 1: Proprietorship and type of school
Co-Educational Girls Grand
Proprietor Boys Only (Mixed) Only Total
Private 9 1058 9 1076
Public 20 5835 23 5878
Grand Total 29 6893 32 6954
1.1.3.2. School Shifts
To reduce learner congestion in classes, the Government introduced learning shifts in schools.
The school shift was defined as;
● Single shift - a type of school shift whereby a group of learners attend classes
in the morning hours only.
● Double shift - a type of school which operates in two groups, with one group
of learners in the morning and the second group of learners in the afternoon;
and
● Overlapping - a type of school whereby one group of learners comes in the
morning and the next group joins them before the first group knocks off.
3
The figure below shows that proportion of schools by their shifts and standard
Figure 4: Percentage Distribution of School’s Shifts
100% 0% 0% 0%
1%
1% 1%
99% 1% 2% 2% 1% 1%
1%
1%
98% 2%
2%
97% 2%
96% 98% 98% 98% 98%

97% 98%
97% 96%
95%
94%
std 1 std 2 std 3 std 4 std 5 std 6 std 7 std 8
Single Double Overlapping
1.1.4 Distance to the Nearest School, TDC, and DEM’s Office
1.1.4.1. Distance to the nearest school
The census also looked at the accessibility of the schools relative to each other. It is assumed
that the closeness of schools in terms of distance promotes continued interaction and sharing
of educational information and facilities among schools. In most cases, a large number of
schools have distances up to 5 kilometers apart. It’s also shown that Central West Education
Division has most schools with the shortest distances apart, that is, distances of up to 5
kilometers followed by the schools in the Northern Education Division, Central East Education
Division and South West Education Division as shown in the figure below;
Figure 5: Distance to the Nearest School
1,800
1,600
Number of Schools
1,400
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
-
CWED NED CEED SWED SEED SHED
0-5km 1,532 1,178 983 857 737 526
6-10km 169 283 191 139 214 63
11-15km 10 23 8 6 10 3
>15km 4 13 1 4
4
1.1.4.2. Distance to the TDC
Distance from school to PEA’s office within a zone determines how effective and efficient the
supervisory system is. The assumption is that all schools have equal access to the Teacher
Development Centre (TDC) and enjoy equal supervisory visits without being hampered by
distance. School distance to TDC serves as a good parameter in measuring how advisory
activities can be planned and executed in a zone.
Figure 6: Distance to the TDC by the Division
1,000
900
800
700
Axis Title
600
500
400
300
200
100
-
CWED NED SWED CEED SEED SHED
0-5km 859 525 495 414 313 223
6-10km 462 478 288 437 301 211
11-15km 243 243 121 184 177 78
>15km 151 251 98 148 174 80
The figure above shows the Northern Education Division has the highest number of schools (251) that
have over 15 kilometers to get to the TDC followed by the South Eastern Division with 174 schools.
The Shire Highlands Education division had the least number of schools (98) with over 15 kilometers
to the TDC.
1.1.4.3. Distance to the DEM’s office
Distance from school to DEM’s office determines how accessible the school is in terms of
resource allocation (i.e. text books) and other managerial services provided by education office.
Figure 7: Distance to the DEM’s office by Division
1000
900
Number of Schools
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
CEED CWED NED SEED SHED SWED
0-10km 129 378 183 110 72 299
11-20km 178 272 150 134 156 189
21-30km 174 198 186 140 138 143
>30km 702 867 978 581 226 371
5
The figure above illustrates that about 54% of schools are at a distance of over than 30
kilometers away from DEM’s office, 17% lie between 0 to 10 kilometers away, 16% lie
between 11 to 20 kilometers away and 14% lie between 21 to 30 kilometers. The Northern
Education Division and Central western division have the highest number of schools (978 and
867 respectively that lie at a distance of more than 30 kilometers.
1.1.5 Location and Accessibility during the Rainy Season
1.1.5.1 Location
The location of schools was categorized as urban, semi-urban and rural areas during data
collection. About 13% percent (942 out of 6954) of the schools are in urban and semi-urban
areas while 87 percent (6012 out of 6954) are in rural areas (Refer to the table below).
Figure 8: School Location
Urban, 780, 11%

Semi Urban, 162,
2%
Rural, 6012, 87%
1.1.5.2 Accessibility
One of the key elements which affect education systems is the availability of Teaching and
Learning Materials (TLMs). Timely delivery of TLMs is paramount in delivery of services at
the school level. The census sought to find out how many schools are accessible during the
rainy season. The results show that the proportion of schools not accessible during rainy season
has remained at 33% as recorded in the 2021/22 Annual School Census. The figure below
illustrates accessibility during the rainy season and roadway material to get to the school.
6
Figure 9: Number of Schools by Location and their Accessibility during Rainy Season and
roadway material
6000 5673
4659
Number of Schools
5000
4000
3000 2295
2000
932
1000 349
0
No Yes Earth Gravel Tar
Is the school accessible by road during What material is the roadway made of
the rainy season
1.1.6 Supervisory and Inspection Visits

Supervising and inspection are mostly concerned with ensuring quality and upholding of
standards. Inspection and supervisory reports mostly evaluate if a school has improved at any
given time compared to the last inspection/supervisory report on quality of teaching, how well
pupils learn and how well teachers assess pupils’ work.
Figure 10: Number of Schools Visited by a Primary Education Advisor (PEA’s)
3000
Number of Schools
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
One Two Three More Than Three None
Term 1 2648 1641 660 365 1640
Term 2 2422 1723 682 360 1767
Term 3 2397 1482 699 448 1928
The table above shows how primary education advisors (PEAs) pay visits to various primary
schools. About 24% percent of the schools were not visited in the first term and 25% in the
second term while 28% were not visited in the third term.
Over 82% of the schools were not visited by the inspectors in all three terms as shown in the
table below.
7
Table 2: Number of Schools Visited by Inspectors
Number of visits Term 1 Term 2 Term 3

One 917 13% 939 14% 954 14%
Two 140 2% 155 2% 124 2%
Three 37 1% 47 1% 49 1%
More Than Three 69 1% 68 1% 69 1%
None 5791 83% 5745 83% 5758 83%
1.1.7 External Assistance and Community Participation
1.1.7.1 External assistance
This is monetary or non-monetary assistance a school gets outside the government’s normal
financial assistance. Such type of assistance might come from NGO’s, development partners
in education, politicians, church leaders, companies (as their corporate social responsibility)
and individuals.
Figure 11: Primary Schools external assistance
4500
3915
4000
3500
3039
Number of Schools
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
NO YES
The figure above shows that 44% of schools get external assistance while the rest (56%) do not
get any external assistance.
1.1.7.2 Community Participation
The figure below shows community participation. During the census, schools were asked how
active community school management are. This question targeted PTA’s, SMC’s and
community volunteers.
8
Figure 12: Distribution of Community Participation and status of activity
895
MOTHER GROUPS 669
5390
513
SCHOOL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE 340
6101
385
PTA 432
6137
2776
COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER 940
3238
0 2000 4000 6000 8000

Number of Schools
NONE INACTIVE ACTIVE
The figure above shows that most schools had active participation from school management
committees, PTAs and mother groups.
Figure 13: Frequency of Meetings for PTA, SMC, Mother Groups and Community
Volunteer
5000 4628
4500 4227 4099
Number of Schools
4000
3500
3000
2500 2282
2000 1727
1366
1500 1181
1000 787
500 151 158 95 94 18 25 12 16
0
MONTHLY QUARTERLY ANNUALY NONE
COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER PTA SCHOOL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MOTHER GROUPS
The School Management Committees met most often followed by the PTA and mother groups.
9
Figure 14: Number of schools that have a school feeding program and Emergency plan
870
B.17.b Does the school have an emergency plan?
6084
2220
B17.a Does the school have a school feeding
programme?
4734
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000
Yes No
The Figure above illustrates that 32% of schools had school feeding programs while 68% had
no school feeding programs. 13% of schools had emergency plans while 87% did not have
emergency plans.
1.2 Pupil Information

1.2.1 Enrolment
The number of primary school learners in this census was captured by standard, sex and age.
At the time of data collection that happened during the first week of December 2022, the census
registered a total of 5,298,456 learners in all primary schools in the country. This represents a
7.2% rise from the previous academic year’s enrolment of 4,943,633. Out of the 5,298,456
learners, 49% (2,604,493) are male while 51% (2,693,963) are female. As has been the case
for the past years, a larger share of these learners is in public schools than in private schools as
outlined in the table below.
10
Table 3: Number of Learners Proprietorship, Sex and Standard
Private Public Total

District Male Female Male Female Male Female
Balaka 884 1185 67332 69509 68216 70694
Blantyre City 18206 18458 73984 74840 92190 93298
Blantyre Rural 2679 2647 70318 71544 72997 74191
Chikwawa 1489 1532 91729 89654 93218 91186
Chiradzulu 695 682 54836 55179 55531 55861
Chitipa 512 613 38331 38150 38843 38763
Dedza 1061 1025 108876 114608 109937 115633
Dowa 6104 6379 100721 105787 106825 112166
Karonga 1103 1168 56871 55951 57974 57119
Kasungu 923 843 134894 140986 135817 141829
Likoma 2100 2203 2100 2203
Lilongwe City 22982 24434 74786 75124 97768 99558
Lilongwe Rural East 3189 3507 118493 124374 121682 127881
Lilongwe Rural West 2172 2098 123149 130755 125321 132853
Machinga 851 919 102894 112954 103745 113873
Mangochi 5355 5964 166878 178503 172233 184467
Mchinji 1800 1973 86009 89605 87809 91578
Mulanje 1233 1280 105406 109356 106639 110636
Mwanza 1491 1545 20709 22012 22200 23557
Mzimba North 417 369 68111 67120 68528 67489
Mzimba South 309 265 80635 82867 80944 83132
Mzuzu City 3659 3589 27367 29300 31026 32889
Neno 713 687 24626 25037 25339 25724
Nkhata Bay 686 659 44935 43709 45621 44368
Nkhotakota 1388 1233 69677 71020 71065 72253
Nsanje 971 947 52576 50873 53547 51820
Ntcheu 950 991 92003 92806 92953 93797
Ntchisi 59 50 44369 47243 44428 47293
Phalombe 284 294 73517 79996 73801 80290
Rumphi 647 622 34920 33447 35567 34069
Salima 1252 1426 71734 76346 72986 77772
Thyolo 1761 1672 104904 104625 106665 106297
Zomba Rural 528 501 115961 123577 116489 124078
Zomba Urban 1271 1195 13218 14151 14489 15346
Grand Total 87624 90752 2516869 2603211 2604493 2693963
Standard-Age Structure for primary school learners
A larger share of learners (20%) were found to be in standard 1. As seen in the table below, as
we move from standard 1 to 8, the number of learners get fewer. Standard 8 makes up only 5
percent of the total learners in primary schools.
11
Table 4: Standard-Age Structure for primary school learners
STD1 STD2 STD3 STD4 STD5 STD6 STD7 STD8 TOTAL
AGE M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F
<5 482 586 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 482 586
5 9448 10343 660 849 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10108 11192
6 244440 248043 12693 14005 1211 1380 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 258344 263428
7 143466 139721 182411 190597 12462 13965 1021 1365 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 339360 345648
8 68171 64612 106965 108723 144198 152932 12744 14526 1501 1967 0 0 0 0 0 0 333579 342760
9 31569 28837 62556 60370 103621 107959 104497 111811 14491 15112 1635 1791 0 0 0 0 318369 325880
10 15204 13801 38518 34149 74635 74313 78238 86062 91992 103350 11558 12585 1771 2095 292 394 312208 326749
11 6617 5580 18316 15728 46570 43723 55838 58837 71538 80904 62976 75291 9571 11158 1803 2278 273229 293499
12 3247 2640 9758 7770 30753 25379 43557 40650 59297 64376 53179 63631 48954 59327 8516 10519 257261 274292
13 765 527 3398 2591 14087 10764 24250 21405 42002 42616 40764 48611 41666 51561 32330 38305 199262 216380
14 187 147 1048 781 5679 4238 12124 9705 25518 23535 30057 32856 34694 41846 31347 36827 140654 149935
15 55 34 323 240 1704 1109 4136 3177 11943 9646 17262 16579 24831 26304 27058 28948 87312 86037
16 22 7 35 21 311 206 892 611 3682 2711 7479 6290 13940 12603 19656 17385 46017 39834
17 2 3 4 2 45 24 179 98 833 533 2237 1603 6240 4400 11158 7339 20698 14002
>17 7 1 15 0 20 3 51 22 169 127 518 246 2077 1111 4753 2231 7610 3741
TOTA
L 523682 514882 436700 435826 435296 435995 337527 348269 322966 344877 227665 259483 183744 210405 136913 144226 2604493 2693963
12
Figure 15: Standard-Sex Structure for primary school learners
600000
500000
Number of Learners
400000
300000
200000
100000
0
STD 1 STD 2 STD 3 STD 4 STD 5 STD 6 STD 7 STD 8
MALE 523682 436700 435296 337527 322966 227665 183744 136913
FEMALE 514882 435826 435995 348269 344877 259483 210405 144226
1.2.2 New Entrants

The 2023 Annual School Census also captured information on new entrants in primary schools by age.
A total of 658,313 new entrants were recorded for the 2022/23 academic year and the trend analysis
shows an increase from the decline that was in 2021
Figure 16: Distribution of New Entrants into Standard 1 by Sex for the past 5 years
800,000
700,000
Number of Learners
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
-
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
MALE 362,855 346,074 330,260 293,466 309,663 332,597
FEMALE 354,422 347,238 323,146 292,792 309,163 325,716
TOTAL 717,277 693,312 653,406 586,258 618,826 658,313
13
Table 5: Distribution of New Entrants into Standard 1 by Age Appropriateness and Sex
% under aged Right % right Over % Over

Under aged (5 (5 years or aged (6 aged (6 aged (≥7 aged (≥7
District years or less) less) years) years) years) years) Total
Balaka 206 1% 11760 70% 4738 28% 16704
Blantyre City 2695 14% 13555 68% 3652 18% 19902
Blantyre Rural 220 1% 11966 78% 3146 21% 15332
Chikwawa 832 4% 13494 60% 8076 36% 22402
Chiradzulu 185 2% 8351 70% 3360 28% 11896
Chitipa 202 3% 6345 85% 892 12% 7439
Dedza 1592 5% 18249 58% 11373 36% 31214
Dowa 135 1% 19078 72% 7177 27% 26390
Karonga 151 1% 9303 81% 2069 18% 11523
Kasungu 101 0% 26007 76% 8000 23% 34108
Likoma 16 4% 311 77% 75 19% 402
Lilongwe City 3627 16% 15004 66% 4274 19% 22905
Lilongwe Rural East 1962 5% 21909 59% 13566 36% 37437
Lilongwe Rural West 1194 4% 21465 65% 10296 31% 32955
Machinga 46 0% 17570 57% 13389 43% 31005
Mangochi 3787 7% 25384 47% 25025 46% 54196
Mchinji 67 0% 14719 67% 7314 33% 22100
Mulanje 1178 4% 18429 66% 8419 30% 28026
Mwanza 498 10% 3190 64% 1321 26% 5009
Mzimba North 327 2% 13056 83% 2327 15% 15710
Mzimba South 322 2% 14610 76% 4168 22% 19100
Mzuzu City 357 5% 6004 84% 745 10% 7106
Neno 140 2% 4352 73% 1444 24% 5936
Nkhata Bay 89 1% 8356 80% 1991 19% 10436
Nkhotakota 103 1% 11799 63% 6686 36% 18588
Nsanje 166 1% 9655 66% 4778 33% 14599
Ntcheu 264 1% 16091 70% 6545 29% 22900
Ntchisi 3 0% 7626 69% 3353 31% 10982
Phalombe 166 1% 11424 69% 5027 30% 16617
Rumphi 0 0% 6573 86% 1109 14% 7682
Salima 117 1% 13229 67% 6530 33% 19876
Thyolo 1214 5% 15206 62% 7919 33% 24339
Zomba Rural 312 1% 21106 70% 8583 29% 30001
Zomba Urban 133 4% 2838 81% 525 15% 3496
Grand Total 22407 3% 438014 67% 197892 30% 658313
Figure 17: Distribution of New Entrants into Standard 1 by Age and Proprietorship
14
70%
60%
Percentage of Students
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
≤5 years 6 Years 7 years 8 years 9 years 10 years 11 years 12 years
Private 33% 58% 8% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Public 2% 67% 17% 7% 3% 2% 1% 1%
The figure above shows that private schools had a higher percentage of underage new entrants (33%)
than public schools (2%). It was also seen that public schools had a higher percentage of over-age new
entrants (31%) than private schools (9%).
New Entrants with ECD background
Table 6: Proportion of New Entrants with ECD Background by Division and Sex
NEW ENTRANTS WITH
NEW ENTRANTS ECD PERCENTAGE WITH ECD
DIVISION MALE FEMALE MALE FEMALE MALE FEMALE
CEED 55208 54277 17060 18253 31% 34%
CWED 81737 79068 28851 29319 35% 37%
NED 39478 38456 18909 18827 48% 49%
SEED 66145 64773 28520 28923 43% 45%
SHED 39439 38696 22378 23862 57% 62%
SWED 40084 38545 20507 20368 51% 53%
TOTAL 322091 313815 136225 139552 42% 44%
The Table above shows that 43 percent of the learners who first registered in primary schools in
Malawi had an ECD background.
1.2.3 Vulnerability and Orphanhood

Studies have proved that vulnerable and orphaned learners are mostly associated with poor health,
absenteeism, dropouts and psychosocial challenges. These challenges often lead to poor academic
performance for the vulnerable learners and orphans. As such, information on the number of vulnerable
pupils in primary schools is very vital for planning interventions.
15
Vulnerability
The census defined vulnerable learners as those who lack basic needs such as school uniforms, learning
materials etc. There were 482,348 vulnerable learners across the country with most of them
concentrated in the lower grades as illustrated in the figure bellow.
Figure 18 : Number of Vulnerable Learners by Standard
50000
45000
40000
Number of Learners
35000
30000
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
STD1 STD2 STD3 STD4 STD5 STD6 STD7 STD8
MALE 45235 39247 35903 31046 28477 21874 18259 15261
FEMALE 46978 40649 37745 31363 29991 23481 20059 16780
Orphans
Orphans were categorized into two: Those who lost a single parent and those who lost both parents. In
2023, there were about 289,958 orphans out of which 80% (230,587) lost a single parent while 20% (59,371)
lost both parents.
Figure 19: Number of Double Orphans in Primary Schools
40000
35000
30000
Number of Learners
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
SINGLE PARENT DIED 32266 30689 33386 30756 32829 26749 24139 19773
BOTH PARENTS DIED 9539 8594 8291 7795 7809 6654 5918 4771
16
1.2.4 Special Needs Learners
Learners with special needs were categorized as Low Vision, Blind, Hard of Hearing, Deaf, Physical
Impairment, Learners with learning difficulties and albinism. About 3.1 percent of the total enrollment
in primary school were learners with special needs.
Figure 20: Number of Learners by Impairment by Gender
60000
50000
Number of Learners
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
Physical Pupils with
Hard of
Low Vision Blind Deaf Impairmen Deaf Blind learning Albinism
Hearing
t difficulties
MALE 21728 304 14077 1392 7176 201 54048 569
FEMALE 22225 242 14812 1368 5471 169 49524 574
The figure above shows the number of learners with diverse needs in the primary education system.
The majority of special needs learners were those with learning difficulties followed by low vision and
hard of hearing.
Figure 21: Number of Learners with Special Learning Needs from 2019 to 2023
250000
Number of SNE Learners
200000
150000
100000
50000
0
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Male 88889 94327 81619 84187 99495
Female 84826 90154 78534 79943 94385
Total 173715 184481 160153 164130 193880
The number of Special needs learners has grown at an average of 3% across the years from 2019. The
2023 Annual School Census recorded 193,880 special needs learners representing an 18% increase
from what was recorded in the 2022 census (164,130)
17
1.2.5 Drop-outs
Table 7: Dropout Proportion by District and Sex
Enrolment 2022 Dropouts 2023 Dropout Proportion
Femal
District Male Female Male Female Male e
Balaka 63222 66031 1851 2180 3% 3%
Blantyre City 87980 90620 692 691 1% 1%
Blantyre Rural 70708 70646 1770 2076 3% 3%
Chikwawa 90768 88604 5615 5476 6% 6%
Chiradzulu 50063 50978 1348 1515 3% 3%
Chitipa 36209 36258 854 987 2% 3%
Dedza 100016 108102 9566 9945 10% 9%
Dowa 94677 100855 3244 3532 3% 4%
Karonga 54267 53977 1249 1319 2% 2%
Kasungu 127420 133834 1907 2184 1% 2%
Likoma 1857 2006 5 14 0% 1%
Lilongwe City 95092 99150 169 291 0% 0%
Lilongwe Rural East 112938 120159 5324 5546 5% 5%
Lilongwe Rural
West 116251 124634 5601 5627 5% 5%
Machinga 91733 102418 4641 5267 5% 5%
Mangochi 154975 169380 12958 13562 8% 8%
Mchinji 81517 85434 4701 4844 6% 6%
Mulanje 100959 105896 3458 4175 3% 4%
Mwanza 20721 22127 1173 1173 6% 5%
Mzimba North 63994 64250 1316 1376 2% 2%
Mzimba South 74930 77596 2542 2227 3% 3%
Mzuzu City 33121 34672 170 161 1% 0%
Neno 24215 24861 1107 1105 5% 4%
Nkhata Bay 42427 41687 1082 1312 3% 3%
Nkhotakota 61489 62288 3012 3317 5% 5%
Nsanje 54263 51114 1829 2030 3% 4%
Ntcheu 82777 86461 4347 4435 5% 5%
Ntchisi 41477 44606 1752 2022 4% 5%
Phalombe 68406 73625 3399 3497 5% 5%
Rumphi 32472 31643 169 264 1% 1%
Salima 68749 72855 3072 3056 4% 4%
Thyolo 97170 101156 4942 5177 5% 5%
Zomba Rural 108148 113244 3035 3186 3% 3%
Zomba Urban 13365 14090 78 101 1% 1%
252525 10367
Grand Total 2418376 7 97978 0 4% 4%
The table above compares the extent of school dropouts across the education districts where Dedza
had the highest drop-out proportion of 9 percent followed by Mangochi with 8%. Cities were seen to
have the lowest dropout proportions.
18
1.2.5.1 Reasons for Dropping out
Learners drop out of school because of various reasons like violence at school, sickness, pregnancy,
poor facilities especially for girls, lack of support, lack of interest by the learner, early marriages,
traveling long distance to school, lack of fees, family responsibilities, employment and unavailability
of teachers. All these reasons were presented by the head teachers during the census.
Figure 22: Various Reasons for Learners Dropouts

60000 52954
Number of Students
50000 45219
38543
40000
30000 20223
20000 9247
3525 3710 3948 5511 5943 6942
10000 758 941 1290 2894
0
The figure above shows various reasons for drop out. It can be seen that a majority of learners in
primary school dropout due to poverty followed by family responsibilities and truancy.
1.2.6 Returnees
The Ministry of Education continues its effort to ensure that all children remain in school and attain
the minimum requirement as per grade. The initiatives include allowing learners, both boys and girls
who drop out to return to school. In the 2023 ASC, it was recorded that a total of 87,710 primary
learners were enrolled as returnees with larger proportions in the lower primary (standard 1 to 4)
compared to the upper primary (standard 5 to 8) as shown in the table below.
Figure 23: Number of Learners Readmitted in primary schools by sex-by standard
14000
12000
Number of Students
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
MALE 12618 7174 7027 5412 4721 3242 2630 1350
FEMALE 12936 6555 6637 5052 4339 3322 2928 1767
19
The figure below shows the decline in the number of readmitted learners starting from the 2021
academic year. The number of learners readmitted in the academic year 2022/23 represent a 0.08%
decline from the previous year.
Figure 24: Trend in Number of Learners Readmitted in primary schools (2019 – 2023)
120000
Numer of Students
100000
80000
60000
40000
20000
0
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
MALE 50288 57438 51258 44080 44174
FEMALE 49491 54207 52124 43697 43536
TOTAL 99779 111645 103382 87777 87710
1.2.7 Transfers
Transfers show learner migration across districts and education divisions. Learner migration affects
districts budgets in either positive or negative way. In the census, transfers were categorized as
transfers in and transfers out.
Figure 25: Learner Migration
NET TRANSFERS 130440
TRANSFERS OUT 211313
TRANSFERS IN 341753
0 50000 100000 150000 200000 250000 300000 350000 400000

Number of Students
20
1.2.8 Deaths and dismissals
Figure 26: Number of Learners who Died and those who got Dismissed
1500 1334
Number of Students
1068
1000
500
150 118
0
Died Dismissed
Male Female
About 0.04percent (2402/5298456) of leaners passed on during the 2023 school year while 0.005
percent (268/5298456) were dismissed.
1.2.9 Primary School Leaving Certificate Examinations

Table 8: Primary School Leaving Certificate Examination results (Previous year)
SAT PASSED FAILED PASS RATE

DISTRICT Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Total
Zomba Urban 1068 1273 1029 1223 39 50 96% 96% 96%
Zomba Rural 4749 4680 4526 4173 223 507 95% 89% 92%
Thyolo 5429 4977 5013 4234 416 743 92% 85% 89%
Salima 3245 3050 2863 2216 382 834 88% 73% 81%
Rumphi 2283 2085 2083 1772 200 313 91% 85% 88%
Phalombe 4144 3580 3972 3169 172 411 96% 89% 92%
Ntchisi 2737 2607 2369 1898 368 709 87% 73% 80%
Ntcheu 3678 3851 3029 2693 649 1158 82% 70% 76%
Nsanje 3217 2202 2517 1288 700 914 78% 58% 70%
Nkhotakota 3472 2902 2954 2105 518 797 85% 73% 79%
Nkhata Bay 2522 2364 2362 2172 160 192 94% 92% 93%
Neno 1090 1220 903 804 187 416 83% 66% 74%
Mzuzu City 2065 2557 1915 2377 150 180 93% 93% 93%
Mzimba South 3247 4187 2711 3260 536 927 83% 78% 80%
Mzimba North 3223 3758 2811 2945 412 813 87% 78% 82%
Mwanza 1181 1278 903 797 278 481 76% 62% 69%
Mulanje 6526 5761 6136 5052 390 709 94% 88% 91%
Mchinji 4127 4428 3677 3651 450 777 89% 82% 86%
Mangochi 4520 4982 3962 3880 558 1102 88% 78% 83%
Machinga 3829 4577 3362 3319 467 1258 88% 73% 79%
Lilongwe Rural West 5864 6210 5042 4819 822 1391 86% 78% 82%
Lilongwe Rural East 4232 4134 3703 3203 529 931 88% 77% 83%
Lilongwe City 7045 7958 6017 6670 1028 1288 85% 84% 85%
Likoma 176 167 167 146 9 21 95% 87% 91%
Kasungu 6234 6373 5676 5164 558 1209 91% 81% 86%
21
Karonga 3657 3732 3217 2958 440 774 88% 79% 84%
Dowa 6031 6289 5221 4838 810 1451 87% 77% 82%
Dedza 4148 4275 3756 3289 392 986 91% 77% 84%
Chitipa 2278 2553 1918 1971 360 582 84% 77% 81%
Chiradzulu 3802 3342 3301 2467 501 875 87% 74% 81%
Chikwawa 5908 4089 4993 2678 915 1411 85% 65% 77%
Blantyre Rural 3501 3855 2981 2895 520 960 85% 75% 80%
Blantyre City 6632 7420 5615 6162 1017 1258 85% 83% 84%
Balaka 2658 3032 2288 2289 370 743 86% 75% 80%
Table 9: Number of Learners Selected to Various Secondary Schools
National District Day Secondary Community Day

Secondary School Secondary School School Secondary School
District Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female
Balaka 5 11 104 60 57 40 956 833
Blantyre City 63 185 164 206 630 606 1067 1118
Blantyre Rural 9 17 97 56 105 104 1253 1223
Chikwawa 73 20 112 107 108 80 946 922
Chiradzulu 60 16 119 58 105 106 716 674
Chitipa 18 25 187 149 23 46 801 774
Dedza 37 22 125 101 134 122 1246 1166
Dowa 53 63 169 137 89 90 1829 1803
Karonga 47 16 124 119 162 136 735 761
Kasungu 129 87 188 98 80 97 2270 2217
Likoma 0 0 79 45 32 12 79 82
Lilongwe City 50 169 149 143 601 628 1632 1649
Lilongwe Rural East 58 39 118 51 108 101 1464 1332
Lilongwe Rural West 57 45 210 118 112 139 2281 1739
Machinga 7 10 69 74 242 202 979 964
Mangochi 47 44 118 107 172 114 1267 1260
Mchinji 34 40 159 106 60 79 833 1216
Mulanje 55 17 146 134 168 174 1194 1158
Mwanza 4 3 33 38 50 31 192 161
Mzimba North 10 18 114 61 0 8 1518 1645
Mzimba South 22 29 103 78 55 57 1482 1543
Mzuzu City 21 67 82 70 275 292 554 537
Neno 1 3 4 0 75 95 318 309
Nkhata Bay 20 19 97 187 51 68 1077 1002
Nkhotakota 28 16 118 67 142 150 995 967
Nsanje 14 5 106 66 53 38 863 693
Ntcheu 14 18 98 106 164 121 1364 1287
Ntchisi 14 7 137 99 47 38 953 904
Phalombe 74 23 139 72 66 65 599 592
Rumphi 22 18 128 81 17 16 918 881
22
Salima 23 8 166 81 40 26 851 862
Thyolo 58 35 221 95 204 205 1242 1201
Zomba Rural 56 36 222 96 230 248 1497 1618
Zomba Urban 8 26 37 54 478 556 375 321
Grand Total 1191 1157 4242 3120 4935 4890 36346 35414
1.3 Accountability and Transparency

The Malawi Government has since 2013 introduced direct funding to all public schools through the
Primary School Improvement Plan (PSIP) where funds known as School Improvement Grants (SIG)
are given directly to the schools. The purpose was to decentralize some of the functions such as
procurement of teaching and learning materials and infrastructure development. This section presents
summary information concerning the school funds.
Table 10: Training on PSIP, Availability of School Improvement Plans and Receipt of SIG
DID THE SCHOOL
DID THE STAKE RECIEVE SCHOOL
HOLDERS UNDER DOES THE SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
GOPRIMARY SCHOOL HAVE A SCHOOL GRANT(SIG) IN
IMPROVEMENT (PSIP) IMPROVEMENT PLAN PREVIOUS
REFRESHER COURSE (SIP)? FINANCIAL YEAR?
District No Yes No Yes No Yes
Balaka 42 125 5 162 7 160
Blantyre City 2 61 1 62 2 61
Blantyre Rural 2 168 2 168 2 168
Chikwawa 32 149 2 179 1 180
Chiradzulu 13 81 94 94
Chitipa 119 63 1 181 2 180
Dedza 26 228 8 246 10 244
Dowa 38 208 6 240 4 242
Karonga 52 124 1 175 1 175
Kasungu 157 226 7 376 11 372
Likoma 3 7 10 10
Lilongwe City 3 54 2 55 2 55
Machinga 5 184 2 187 5 184
Mangochi 42 269 11 300 13 298
Mchinji 2 212 2 212 3 211
Mulanje 37 131 7 161 2 166
Mwanza 34 23 57 2 55
Mzimba North 11 273 6 278 8 276
Mzimba South 11 309 6 314 8 312
Mzuzu City 41 41 41
Neno 86 1 85 13 73
Nkhata Bay 2 199 1 200 1 200
Nkhotakota 42 124 166 3 163
Nsanje 1 103 1 103 1 103
Ntcheu 7 239 246 246
Ntchisi 71 81 3 149 2 150
23
Phalombe 59 32 20 71 90 1
Rumphi 87 120 8 199 16 191
Salima 84 80 8 156 22 142
Thyolo 24 163 2 185 187
Zomba Rural 23 180 7 196 10 193
Zomba Urban 17 17 1 16
Grand Total 1309 4569 126 5752 249 5629
The table above shows that a majority of the public schools underwent PSIP refresher courses (78%),
had a School Improvement Plan (98%), and received SIG funds for the previous academic year of
2022 (98%).
Table 11: SIGs Reported to be received by public schools for 2022 academic year
Minimum
District Sum (MWK) Maximum (MWK) Average (MWK)
(MWK)
Balaka 6,546,153.00 692,695.00 100,000.00 159,662.27
Blantyre City 50,891,094.00 2,462,651.00 440,000.00 960,209.32
Blantyre Rural 96,256,752.00 1,409,421.00 450,000.00 572,956.86
Chikwawa 103,001,373.00 1,702,202.00 300,400.00 578,659.40
Chiradzulu 53,391,781.00 805,000.00 481,883.00 613,698.63
Chitipa 108,000,000.00 600,000.00 600,000.00 600,000.00
Dedza 118,784,440.00 697,170.00 468,196.00 599,921.41
Dowa 151,987,756.00 1,357,810.00 485,700.00 628,048.58
Karonga 57,965,052.00 985,490.00 465,000.00 591,480.12
Kasungu 119,543,819.00 1,180,000.00 300,000.00 439,499.33
Likoma 2,630,000.00 830,000.00 200,000.00 438,333.33
Lilongwe City 45,538,672.00 1,582,878.00 619,284.00 827,975.85
Lilongwe Rural East 110,439,104.00 529,999.00 438,460.00 484,382.04
Lilongwe Rural West 145,549,838.00 2,232,052.00 182,160.00 584,537.50
Machinga 107,144,422.00 1,399,800.00 369,000.00 585,488.64
Mangochi 152,094,168.00 1,023,842.00 395,219.00 517,327.10
Mchinji 16,669,268.00 773,288.00 487,200.00 595,331.00
Mulanje 102,113,217.00 2,025,900.00 200,000.00 642,221.49
Mwanza 31,115,504.00 970,000.00 197,000.00 565,736.44
Mzimba North 55,284,754.00 944,750.00 200,521.00 564,130.14
Mzimba South 166,765,181.00 1,107,194.00 466,276.00 610,861.47
Mzuzu City 25,982,483.00 1,320,498.00 501,530.00 633,719.10
Neno 31,783,090.00 796,300.00 219,000.00 435,384.79
Nkhata Bay 97,421,238.00 680,000.00 480,000.00 502,171.33
Nkhotakota 101,192,954.00 2,112,202.00 350,000.00 620,815.67
Nsanje 52,474,375.00 1,074,000.00 380,100.00 509,459.95
Ntcheu 91,203,313.00 947,999.00 378,000.00 506,685.07
Ntchisi 82,459,270.00 899,061.00 356,000.00 560,947.41
Phalombe 800,000.00 800,000.00 800,000.00 800,000.00
Rumphi 84,351,356.00 795,000.00 419,000.00 589,869.62
Salima 61,317,022.00 1,040,000.00 500,000.00 632,134.25
24
Thyolo 117,622,616.00 1,277,496.00 400,000.00 632,379.66
Zomba Rural 139,349,792.00 1,861,670.00 509,000.00 774,165.51
Zomba Urban 11,029,036.00 1,500,000.00 395,000.00 787,788.29
Grand Total 2,698,698,893.00 2,462,651.00 100,000.00 578,251.32
1.4 Infrastructure and Sanitation Information

School infrastructure and sanitation have a direct impact on access, quality, efficiency and equity to
education. Good infrastructure and proper sanitary facilities are vital tools in attracting learner’s
attendance especially girls. The 2023 school census captured infrastructure and sanitation data which
included buildings by condition and type, sanitary facilities, buildings under construction, source of
drinking water, electricity and furniture. See Appendix A for detailed statistical table for various school
infrastructure.
1.4.1 Primary School Classrooms

At a national level, there were 50,420 permanent classrooms completed and in use in primary schools
and the number of permanent structures in the primary sub-sector has been changing in response to the
growing demand resulting from increasing enrollment.
Figure 27: Trend in Permanent classrooms from 2018 to 2023
52,000
50,420
50,000 49,415
48,435
48,000 46,714
46,000 45,366
44,000 42,896
42,000
40,000
38,000
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Number of Permanent classrooms
Figure shows the trend in growth of permanent classrooms in the period between 2018 and 2023. The
number in permanent classrooms grew from 42,896 in 2018 to 50,420 in 2023, representing a 18%
overall increase. The number of classrooms has increased at a 4% average rate annually from 2018 to
2023.
More temporary classrooms were found to be in the lower grades of Standard 1 through 4 as shown in
the figure bellow.
25
Figure 28: Number of Classrooms available to each Standard
12000
10000
8000
Number of classrooms
6000
4000
2000
0
Std 1 Std 2 Std 3 Std 4 Std 5 Std 6 Std 7 Std 8
Permanent 10372 7288 5849 5503 6212 5950 6070 5753
Temporary 1690 1043 1252 1167 936 789 442 288
Access to classrooms is a very important factor in accommodating learners who have physical
impairments. Data on the availability of classrooms with ramps to ease accessibility by learners with
Special Needs was also collected in the 2022/23 Annual School Census. The figure above shows the
trend in classrooms with ramps relative to the total permanent classrooms. Between 2018 and 2023,
the number of classrooms with ramps increased by 79% from 13,348 to and grew at an annual average
of 14%.
Figure 29: Number of permanent classrooms with ramps
60,000
Number of Classrooms
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
-
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Number of classrooms 42,896 45,366 46,714 48,435 49,415 50,420
Number of Classrooms with Ramps 13,348 16,075 18,567 20,877 22,729 23,911
1.4.2 Water and Sanitation

Good infrastructure and proper sanitary facilities are vital tools in attracting learner’s attendance
especially girls. The 2022/23 school census captured infrastructure and sanitation data which included
buildings by condition and type of sanitary facilities. The availability of water is one of the important
elements in the fight against sanitary pandemics like cholera, scabies and COVID-19.
26
Figure 30: Number of Flush toilets and Pit Latrines
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
-
Boys Girls Male Staff Female Staff
Flush Toilets in use 1,580 1,822 742 703
Improved Pit latrines in use 23,510 26,950 4,250 4,201
Basic Pit Latrines in Use 10,892 12,158 2,092 1,942
Figure 31: Disability Friendly Toilets and Urinal Blocks
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
-
Improved and In Use
Basic In Use Disability Improved Urinal
Disability Friendly Basic Urinal Blocks
Friendly Toilets Blocks
Toilets
Boys 1,823 689 2,557 1,667
Girls 2,212 744 2,377 1,555
Male Staff 208 104 214 195
Female Staff 233 90 260 193
Figure 32: Number of Handwashing Facilities
16,000
13,440
14,000 11,875
12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000 4,873 4,225
4,000 2,768 2,785
2,000 958 958
-
Girls Boys Female Staff Male Staff
Handwashing facility with soap and water Handwashing facility with water only
27
Figure 33: Number of Change rooms
2,500 2,349
2,000
1,457
1,500
1,000
500 240 179
-
IMPROVED IN USE IMPROVED UNDER BASIC IN USE ROOMS BASIC UNDER
CONSTRUCTION CONSTRUCTION
Number of Changerooms
1.4.2.1 Main Source of Drinking Water
The census also captured information on water sources in primary schools since this determines health,
sanitation and hygiene in schools. The major water sources identified include borehole, lake, piped
water, protected hand dug well with pump, protected springs, rain water tanks, river and unprotected
hand dug well and unprotected springs. The figure below shows that boreholes remain the main source
of water in schools (70%) followed by piped water (24%).
Figure 34: Distribution of schools by Water Source
NO WATER 146
RAIN WATER TANK -
LAKE 9
RIVER 60
UNPROTECTED SPRING 34
UNPROTECTED HAND-DUG WELL 68
PROTECTED SPRING 6
PROTECTED HAND-DUG WELL WITH PUMP 81
BOREHOLE 4,886
PIPED WATER 1,657
- 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000
Number of Schools
About 2% of schools had no water, a reduction from the 3% that was reported in 2022.
28
1.4.3 Source of Electricity
The census also captured information on source of power in primary schools. The main power sources
were identified as ESCOM, solar power and generator.
Figure 35: Distribution of sources of power
ESCOM, 24%
GENERATOR, 1%
NO ELECTRICITY, 66%
SOLAR POWER, 9%
Figure 26 above shows that 66% of schools did not have electricity, 24% use ESCOM as their source
of electricity, 9% use solar generated power while only 1% had access to a generator as their source
of electricity. Blantyre city and Lilongwe city had the highest number of schools with electricity being
supplied by ESCOM.
1.4.4 Classroom furniture

Classroom furniture is essential for comfortable learning in schools. Research has shown that learners
are able to concentrate more and for longer when they are using appropriate furniture compared to
sitting on the floor. Learners who sit on the floor are exposed to harsh temperatures in extremely cold
and hot places and seasons.
The census collected information on classroom furniture such as desks, benches, forms, tables and
chairs for learners as well as teachers. The table below presents the number of school furniture by type
and user. Disaggregated information by district and standard can be found in appendix
Figure 36: Number of Classroom furniture for teachers and Learners
600,000
484,074
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000 18,830 12,635 1,471 12,753 1,658 46,151 34,120
11,687 11,590
-
Desks Benches Forms Tables Chairs
Learners Teachers
29
Learners with special needs require specially designed furniture for their learning needs. The census
also collected this furniture and is presented in the figure below.
Figure 37: Number of Classroom furniture for SNE teachers and Learners
3,500
2,884
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,467
1,500 1,152
1,000
405 336
500 218 168 233
30 41
-
Desks Benches Forms Tables Chairs
SNE Learners SNE Teachers
1.5 Teaching and Learning Materials
1.5.1 Learners’ Textbooks

The availability of learner’s books is key in the teaching and learning process. The 2023 ASC collected
data on the number of learners’ books and teachers guides available in schools. The Pupil text book
ratios were calculated for all the standards and for each subject as shown in the table below.
Table 12: Number of textbooks by standard
Books Std1 Std2 Std3 Std4 Std5 Std6 Std7 Std8

Kuyamba Sukulu 9418
English 17202 16274 15297 14749 10014 10567 9565 9383
Chichewa 16760 15737 14979 14391 9280 9908 9128 9865
Mathematics 10116 9734 8856 9142 8337 8031
Numeracy & Mathematics 9394 8911
Expressive arts 9022 8493 9833 9392 8445 8539 8025 7952
Bible Knowledge 8546 7332 7337 7013 6280 6415 6162 5728
Agriculture 7659 8210 8058 7622 7522
Science & Technology 7903 8053 7617 7411
Social and Environmental Sciences 9545 9485 7994 8278 7884 7607
Religious Education 3297 2863 2922 2785 2669 2789 2534 2454
Life Skills 7928 9085 9139 8084 8255 7812 7717
30
Table 13: Pupil-Textbooks Ratios by Subject and Standard
The table above shows the number of learners who share one textbook for each subject and standard.
A higher number indicates that there are more learners who are sharing a textbook hence more
textbooks are needed. It can be seen that the subject with the most need of textbooks is religious
education followed by bible knowledge, life skills and expressive arts. The standard with the most
need of textbooks is standard 5 for all subjects followed by standard 6 and 7.
1.5.2 ICT in Primary Schools

It is imperative to equip learners in primary school with the basic knowledge in ICT and to have ICT facilities
like the internet and electronic gadgets. The census collected information of how many schools were connected
to the internet and how many had ICT lessons for learners. Results for these questions are presented in the table
below.
Table 14: ICT Lessons and Internet Connectivity in Primary Schools
Does the school offer ICT Lessons Is the school connected to the internet
District No Yes No Yes
Balaka 176 1 176 1
Blantyre City 292 11 292 11
Blantyre Rural 207 3 207 3
Chikwawa 203 4 203 4
Chitipa 188 1 188 1
Dedza 268 4 268 4
Dowa 270 270
Karonga 185 4 185 4
Kasungu 392 2 392 2
Likoma 10 10
Lilongwe City 374 13 374 13
Lilongwe Rural East 285 2 285 2
31
Lilongwe Rural West 272 13 272 13
Machinga 202 202
Mangochi 345 6 345 6
Mchinji 229 229
Mulanje 183 2 183 2
Mwanza 73 73
Mzimba North 286 1 286 1
Mzimba South 320 5 320 5
Mzuzu City 68 6 68 6
Neno 94 94
Nkhata Bay 211 211
Nkhotakota 179 2 179 2
Nsanje 113 2 113 2
Ntcheu 242 13 242 13
Ntchisi 157 157
Phalombe 81 15 81 15
Rumphi 212 212
Salima 177 4 177 4
Thyolo 210 1 210 1
Zomba Rural 206 3 206 3
Zomba Urban 26 26
Grand Total 6830 124 6830 124
The table above shows that only about 2 percent of primary schools in Malawi offer ICT lessons while
2 percent are connected to the internet.
1.6 Teachers and support staff

1.6.1 Teachers
Well qualified and motivated teachers are key in improving the quality of education. The school census
collected data on teacher information and the tables below provide data on qualification, employment
grade (for those in public schools) and the number of auxiliary teachers.
Table 15: Teacher’s highest level of qualification by sex
Level of Education FEMALE MALE Grand Total

DEGREE IN EDUCATION 64 50 114
DIP IN EDUCATION 140 168 308
JCE 2456 2712 5168
MSCE 32728 38578 71306
NON-EDUCATION DEGREE 20 29 49
NON-EDUCATION DIPLOMA 35 95 130
Grand Total 35443 41632 77075
32
The 2023 annual school Census recorded that 71306 out of 77075 representing 92% of teachers had
Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) as their highest academic qualification as indicated
in the table above.
Table 16: Number of Teachers by Teacher Grade and District
PRIVATE
P8 SCHOOL PT1 PT2 PT3 PT4 Grand
District AUXILLIARY (I) TEACHER (I) (J) (K) (L) VOLUNTEER Total
Balaka 65 7 100 35 53 338 1574 2 2174
Blantyre City 1 4 1899 99 199 641 1402 4 4249
Blantyre Rural 59 9 278 47 69 428 1944 8 2842
Chikwawa 51 2 201 27 49 269 1909 2508
Chiradzulu 4 65 43 58 293 1090 1553
Chitipa 78 2 49 33 43 298 864 58 1425
Dedza 179 5 120 66 82 480 2606 9 3547
Dowa 80 4 298 89 104 682 2079 82 3418
Karonga 51 117 18 53 309 1361 9 1918
Kasungu 65 2 83 107 118 936 3028 14 4353
Likoma 1 2 8 21 81 113
Lilongwe City 37 7 2270 107 147 1040 1049 4657
Lilongwe Rural East 37 2 328 74 110 701 2794 2 4048
Lilongwe Rural West 126 3 219 114 136 835 2789 10 4232
Machinga 101 1 84 34 51 304 2438 1 3014
Mangochi 90 5 354 46 101 460 3693 6 4755
Mchinji 84 3 168 65 72 563 1947 8 2910
Mulanje 48 3 150 64 84 433 2432 1 3215
Mwanza 39 4 121 16 24 96 510 1 811
Mzimba North 86 41 19 72 376 1584 21 2199
Mzimba South 84 41 21 65 397 1939 2 2549
Mzuzu City 4 361 25 46 268 737 1441
Neno 26 1 60 28 18 107 608 3 851
Nkhata Bay 77 74 16 52 195 1174 10 1598
Nkhotakota 42 3 118 32 76 327 1353 3 1954
Nsanje 93 2 97 22 38 160 1074 6 1492
Ntcheu 147 3 87 40 86 534 2015 23 2935
Ntchisi 110 1 19 37 62 252 982 1 1464
Phalombe 67 3 27 27 32 222 1631 2 2011
Rumphi 113 44 17 60 240 928 38 1440
Salima 108 2 120 36 58 324 1630 3 2281
Thyolo 71 1 160 73 77 559 2342 3283
Zomba Rural 74 4 54 72 98 510 2587 6 3405
Zomba Urban 2 119 23 33 170 457 804
Grand Total 2289 93 8327 1574 2434 13768 56631 333 85449
33
1.6.2 Teacher workload
Teacher workload during the annual school census looked at the number of teaching periods that a
teacher has per week bearing in mind the number of grades he/she is in charge of. It is believed that
over workload has a negative impact on classroom teaching and learning due to limited time for lesson
planning and tasks assessment. The table below shows the maximum, average and minimum teaching
periods per week by district.
Table 17: Summary of teaching Periods in Primary School
Maximum
Teaching period Minimum teaching Average teaching
District /week period/week period/week
Balaka 91 0 32
Blantyre City 60 0 31
Blantyre Rural 72 2 30
Chikwawa 82 0 45
Chiradzulu 55 0 33
Chitipa 56 3 41
Dedza 76 0 32
Dowa 55 0 34
Karonga 57 4 37
Kasungu 55 2 33
Likoma 46 8 32
Lilongwe City 92 0 30
Lilongwe Rural East 82 0 30
Lilongwe Rural West 60 0 32
Machinga 82 0 33
Mangochi 92 0 41
Mchinji 65 0 32
Mulanje 82 0 39
Mwanza 60 1 38
Mzimba North 92 1 38
Mzimba South 95 2 43
Mzuzu City 58 0 30
Neno 55 0 37
Nkhata Bay 75 0 43
Nkhotakota 57 0 44
Nsanje 88 0 35
Ntcheu 72 0 32
Ntchisi 99 4 39
Phalombe 82 0 30
Rumphi 55 1 42
Salima 55 0 38
34
Thyolo 88 0 37
Zomba Rural 92 0 26
Zomba Urban 54 1 18
Grand Total 99 0 35
1.6.3 Teacher Retention
Teacher retention refers to ability of the school system to keep its teachers in employment or the efforts
the primary sub-sector in general retained its teachers in a school year. In 2023, about 9196 teachers
were transferred out to other schools. The system did not retain 3048 teachers due to the reasons
demonstrated in the figure below.
Figure 38: Teaching Staff - Reasons for leaving school
400
350 330 335
302
287
Number of Teachers
300
250
189 191 196 192
200 164
150
150 109
95 105
89
100 74
55 49 60
38
50 18 20
8
0
Male Female
The primary sub-sector lost a lot of teachers due to voluntary retirement and mandatory retirement and
majority of them were men.
35
Figure 39: Trend in number of primary school teacher
90000
80000
Number of teachers
70000
60000
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Public 78265 77523 77929 77755 77075
Private 5167 5508 6157 7043 8327
Total 83432 83031 84086 84798 85402
The overall population of teachers in the primary sub-sector has been changing in response to the
growing demand resulting from increased enrolment. However, the number of public-school teachers
has shown a slight decrease over the years. Starting at 78,265 in 2019, it decreased to 77,523 in 2020,
experienced a small increase to 77,929 in 2021, and then declined again to 77,755 in 2022. In 2023, it
further decreased to 77,075.
The trend suggests a gradual reduction in the number of teachers in public schools. On the other hand,
the number of teachers in private schools has shown a consistent increase. It began at 5,167 in 2019
and rose to 5,508 in 2020. The growth continued in subsequent years, with 6,157 teachers in 2021,
7,043 teachers in 2022, and a significant increase to 8,327 teachers in 2023. This trend indicates a
consistent expansion of the private primary education sector, leading to a higher demand for teachers.
1.6.3 Teacher Houses

The 2023 School census focused on permanent houses to estimate a gap assuming that all teachers
were to live within the school premises. Studies have shown that teachers who reside close to the
school have less absenteeism compared to teachers who stay far away from the school.
Having teachers houses on campus can also help promote a healthier work-life balance for teachers as
they can minimize commuting time and stress, enabling them to invest more time and energy into their
teaching responsibilities.
36
Table 18: Number of Teachers Houses by District and Anticipated gaps
Number of
Number of
Teachers Houses Teachers
District Teachers
(Public) houses
(Public)
required
Balaka 2074 416 1658
Chikwawa 2315 516 1799
Chiradzulu 1488 366 1122
Chitipa 1376 471 905
Dedza 3430 665 2765
Dowa 3052 841 2211
Karonga 1801 540 1261
Kasungu 4269 1417 2852
Likoma 113 36 77
Machinga 2930 510 2420
Mangochi 4394 903 3491
Mchinji 2744 534 2210
Mulanje 3071 537 2534
Mwanza 688 126 562
Mzuzu City 1080 80 1000
Neno 796 159 637
Nkhata Bay 1525 444 1081
Nkhotakota 1835 546 1289
Nsanje 1395 352 1043
Ntcheu 2848 395 2453
Ntchisi 1445 419 1026
Phalombe 1984 319 1665
Rumphi 1396 576 820
Salima 2160 447 1713
Thyolo 3125 566 2559
Zomba Rural 3353 522 2831
Zomba Urban 685 45 640
Grand Total 77075 16724 60351
37
1.7 Summary of Primary Education Indicators
1.7.1 Access Indicators in Primary education
1.7.1.1. Gross Intake Ratio
This is the total number of new entrants in standard one regardless of age expressed as a percentage of
the population of official primary school-registration age. It is also known as Apparent Intake Rate
(AIR). It indicates the general level of access to primary education. Mostly, it reflects those pupils who
may not have been enrolled in school at an appropriate age, and often reflects the backlog of students
who could not enroll before
Figure 40: Trend in gross Intake Rate 2019-2023

125.0
120.0
Primary GIR
115.0
110.0
105.0
100.0
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Male 114.0 109.0 111.0 115.6 120.8
Female 119.0 111.0 112.0 116.3 118.0
Total 116.5 110.0 111.5 116.0 119.4
The figure above shows the overall gross intake rate for standard one in 2023 stands at 120, with 118
for girls and 121 for boys.
1.7.1.2. Net Intake Rate
This is the total number of new entrants who are in standard one and are 6 years old expressed as a
percentage of population of official age (excluding repeaters of 6 years of age). This indicator measures
access to primary education by pupils at their official age. The results show high degree of access for
6-year olds. However, girls have a higher rate than boys.
Figure 41: Trend in Net Intake Rate 2019-2023
82.0
80.0
Primary NIR
78.0
76.0
74.0
72.0
70.0
68.0
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Male 74.0 73.0 75.0 74.1 78.8
Female 78.0 78.0 77.0 77.7 79.9
Total 76.0 75.5 76.0 75.9 79.4
38
The Figure above shows enrolment of standard one school going age population has risen from 75.9%
in 2022 to 79.4% in 2023.
1.7.1.3. Gross Enrolment Rate (GER)
It is the total enrolment regardless of age expressed as a percentage of the eligible official school-age
population. It shows a general level of participation in primary education. It is commonly known as a
crude measure of access to school. Mostly the indicator is above 100 because of its methodological
nature of calculation as it includes both under and over aged pupils.
Figure 42: Gross Enrolment Rate 2019-2023
140
120
Primary GER
100
80
60
40
20
0
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Male 126 129 123 118.4 125.6
Female 130 133 128 109.3 130.4
Total 128 131 126 114 128
The figure above shows high participation rates for both girls and boys. Based on these results, it can
be assumed that the primary education sub-sector is almost able to accommodate all of its school age
population. However, the rates can be more meaningful if the numbers of under aged and over aged
are reduced.
1.7.1.4. Net Enrolment Rate (NER)
NER is the best way of measuring organized on-time school participation. It is a more refined indicator
of school and enrolment coverage and explains the proportion of students enrolled in terms of official
age group. NER is calculated by dividing the number of properly aged primary pupils (6-13 years of
age) by the population of primary school going age (6-13 years).
Figure 43: Trend in Net Enrolment Rate; 2019-2023
94
92
90
NER
88
86
84
82
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Male 87 87 86 87 88
Female 91 92 90 88 93
Total 89 90 88 88 91
39
The Net Enrolment Rate (NER) has increased to 91 percent in 2023. This means that 9 percent of
primary school aged population are not enrolled in our primary schools.
1.7.2 Quality Indicators in Primary school
Quality indicators for the primary sub-sector include Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR), Pupil Classroom
Ratio (PCR), Pupil Text Book Ratio and the Pupil Stance Ratio (PSR) also referred to as Pupil Toilet
Ratio in other literature. Quality indicators provide a picture on the learning/teaching classroom
environment in terms of overcrowding, pupil–teacher contact and sanitation. For all these indicators,
a lower value leads to reduced levels of overcrowding or reduced competition for classroom resources
and implies better learning conditions.
1.7.2.1. Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR)
This is calculated as the total number of pupils enrolled at specified level of education by the number
of teachers. It is used to measure the level of human resource input in terms of the number of teachers
in relation to the size of pupil population. Though it is widely used as a quality indicator, it should be
noted that quality of education depends on other factors i.e. qualification of teachers, teaching and
learning materials and other issues. The understanding of this indicator is as follows;
(i) The lower the PTR the better the opportunity for contact between the teacher and learners and
for the teacher to provide support to learners individually, thereby improving the quality of
education.
(ii) Lower PTR may indicate inefficient or underutilization of teachers, a situation which can
only be realized when the teachers’ colleges have over supplied teachers than the number
required.
Figure 44: Pupil qualified teacher Ratio by proprietorship and Location
80.0
70.0
60.0
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
Rural Semi Urban Urban
Private 49.4 34.4 42.5
Public 68.5 53.2 58.1
Religious Institution 66.9 51.6 61.2
40
More leaners are attended by a single teacher in rural areas relative to urban areas as manifested by the
figure above. The observation is made across proprietorship; a higher number of leaners are attended
to a single teacher in public schools than in private school.
Figure 45: Trend in Pupil Teacher Ratio and Pupil Qualified Ratio
70
68
66
64
62
60
58
56
54
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
PTR 63.5 65.3 58.9 59 61
PTqR 66.1 68 62 62 64
The figure above shows a decline in both pupil teacher ratio and pupil trained (qualified) teacher ratio
from 2019 to 2022 and then a slight increase in 2023. The table below gives a detailed mapping of
pupil teacher ratio by district.
Table 19: Pupil Qualified Teacher Ratio by District
District Enrolment All teachers Trained Teachers PTR PqTR

Chitipa 77606 1425 1294 54 60
Karonga 115093 1918 1868 60 62
Rumphi 69636 1439 1330 48 52
Mzimba North 136017 2199 2158 62 63
Mzimba South 164076 2549 2517 64 65
Mzuzu City 63915 1441 1378 44 46
Nkhata Bay 89989 1598 1513 56 59
Likoma 4303 112 112 38 38
Kasungu 277646 4353 4285 64 65
Nkhotakota 143318 1954 1907 73 75
Dowa 218991 3417 3261 64 67
Ntchisi 91721 1464 1452 63 63
Salima 150758 2281 2230 66 68
Mchinji 179387 2889 2798 62 64
Lilongwe City 197326 4657 3510 42 56
Lilongwe Rural East 249563 4022 3805 62 66
Lilongwe Rural West 258174 4231 4101 61 63
Dedza 225570 3543 3486 64 65
Ntcheu 186750 2934 2875 64 65
Mangochi 356700 4749 4627 75 77
Balaka 138910 2174 2150 64 65
Machinga 217618 3014 2977 72 73
41
Zomba Urban 29835 804 688 37 43
Zomba Rural 240567 3404 3363 71 72
Blantyre City 185488 4249 3135 44 59
Blantyre Rural 147188 2842 2672 52 55
Mwanza 45757 811 747 56 61
Chikwawa 184404 2485 2354 74 78
Nsanje 105367 1492 1436 71 73
Chiradzulu 111392 1547 1523 72 73
Thyolo 212962 3276 3170 65 67
Mulanje 217275 3215 3105 68 70
Phalombe 154091 2011 1992 77 77
Neno 51063 851 828 60 62
Grand total 5298456 85350 80647 60 63
Table 18 above shows a variation of pupil qualified teacher ratio by district, Chikwawa and Phalombe
reported the highest PqTR of 78 and 77 respectively.
1.7.2.2. Pupil Permanent Classroom Ratio (PpCR)
Inadequate school infrastructure is one of the major challenges the primary sub-sector has been facing
for a long time. The number of classrooms available to the learners tells more of the quality of
education being rendered to pupils. A higher ratio will always entail poor quality of the education
system and may mean a lot of open-air classes or congestion in the available classrooms. The census
looked at Pupil Permanent Classroom ratio (PpCR) to measure quality in-terms of infrastructure in the
primary sub-sector.
Figure 46: Trend in Pupil Permanent Classroom Ratio; 2019 - 2023
140
119.5 115.3
120
102.3 98 102.5
100
80
60
40
20
0
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
The results show a slight increase in pupil classroom ratio from 98 in 2022 to 102.5 in 2023. At district
level the average worst scenario case with higher pupil permanent classroom ratio were reported for
Phalombe at 155, and Zomba rural 154 Machinga at 143.
42
Table 20: Pupil permanent Classroom Ratio by District
Number of Permanent Pupil Permanent

District classrooms Number of leaners classroom ratio
Balaka 1340 138910 103.66
Chikwawa 1437 184404 128
Chitipa 1060 77606 73
Dedza 1962 225570 115
Dowa 1834 218991 119
Karonga 1269 115093 91
Kasungu 2579 277646 108
Likoma 134 4303 32
Machinga 1464 217618 149
Mangochi 2494 356700 143
Mchinji 1551 179387 116
Mulanje 1665 217275 130
Mwanza 447 45757 102
Mzuzu City 789 63915 81
Neno 572 51063 89
Nkhata Bay 1300 89989 69
Nkhotakota 1212 143318 118
Nsanje 833 105367 126
Ntcheu 1414 186750 132
Ntchisi 1008 91721 91
Phalombe 994 154091 155
Rumphi 1152 69636 60
Salima 1235 150758 122
Thyolo 1929 212962 110
Zomba Rural 1565 240567 154
Grand Total 50420 5298456 102
43
1.7.2.3. Pupil Textbook Ratio - Books in Good Condition
Number of textbooks available in primary schools contributes to quality performance of learners. The
annual school census collected the number of books in good condition and used the information to
calculate the Pupil Textbook Ratio for the primary sub-sector in the following subjects; English,
Chichewa, Mathematics and Life Skills.
Table 21: Pupil Textbook Ratio- Books in Good Condition-2023
The figure above shows variation pupil textbook ratio by standard.
1.7.3 Efficiency Indicators

These rates help to understand how the education system utilizes efficiently the limited resources and
time. These rates are commonly used to measure the efficiency of the education system in producing
graduates of a particular education cycle or level. A learner has three paths in a particular school
calendar, i.e. to be promoted to the next grade, to repeat a grade or drop-out and complete a grade.
1.7.3.1. Repetition Rate
This indicator measures the proportion of students who have remained in the same grade for two or
more consecutive years by retaking the grade by either leaving the class prematurely or returning for
a second or third time. Repeating a class means a pupil is using more public resources than allocated.
Evidence shows that too high repetition rates do not favour a better mastery of learning, increase the
risk of dropping out, and have adverse effects of pupil-teacher ratio and costs”1.
1
Siteresources.worldbank.org/EDUCATION/Resources page XXXi
44
Figure 47: Repetition Rates by Standard and Sex- 2023
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
male 37% 25% 27% 22% 28% 23% 23% 19%
female 36% 24% 25% 20% 27% 23% 23% 17%
Total 36% 24% 26% 21% 27% 23% 23% 18%
Figure 48: Repetition Rates by Standard in 2019 to 2023
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Std1 Std2 Std3 Std4 Std5 Std6 Std7 Std8
2019 30.5 21.8 22.5 17.6 21.5 19.4 19.9 18.7
2020 33.3 22.2 22.6 17.9 22.6 20.4 20 18
2021 29 20 21 17 20 19 18 15
2022 34 23 25 19 26 23 23 17
2023 36.4 24.4 26.2 20.8 27.3 22.8 22.7 17.6
The figure above shows marginal fluctuations in repetition rate for most standards (grades) except
standard five.
45
Table 22: Repetition Rates by district for primary school in 2022
enrolment 2022 Repeaters 2023 Repetition rates

Tota
District Male Female Total male female Total Male Female l
Balaka 63222 66031 129253 19800 19664 39464 31% 30% 31%
Blantyre City 87980 90620 178600 17111 15856 32967 19% 17% 18%
Blantyre Rural 70708 70646 141354 16408 15686 32094 23% 22% 23%
Chikwawa 90768 88604 179372 23475 23723 47198 26% 27% 26%
Chiradzulu 50063 50978 101041 12978 12521 25499 26% 25% 25%
Chitipa 36209 36258 72467 13469 12220 25689 37% 34% 35%
Dedza 100016 108102 208118 27818 29418 57236 28% 27% 28%
Dowa 94677 100855 195532 24517 23568 48085 26% 23% 25%
Karonga 54267 53977 108244 17994 16272 34266 33% 30% 32%
Kasungu 127420 133834 261254 34293 33800 68093 27% 25% 26%
Likoma 1857 2006 3863 347 493 840 19% 25% 22%
Lilongwe City 95092 99150 194242 15481 14891 30372 16% 15% 16%
Lilongwe Rural East 112938 120159 233097 25980 26973 52953 23% 22% 23%
Lilongwe Rural West 116251 124634 240885 31383 31935 63318 27% 26% 26%
Machinga 91733 102418 194151 27036 30066 57102 29% 29% 29%
Mangochi 154975 169380 324355 43838 47094 90932 28% 28% 28%
Mchinji 81517 85434 166951 22713 21482 44195 28% 25% 26%
Mulanje 100959 105896 206855 21767 20954 42721 22% 20% 21%
Mwanza 20721 22127 42848 7030 6923 13953 34% 31% 33%
Mzimba North 63994 64250 128244 18864 16555 35419 29% 26% 28%
Mzimba South 74930 77596 152526 23196 20394 43590 31% 26% 29%
Mzuzu City 33121 34672 67793 4549 4008 8557 14% 12% 13%
Neno 24215 24861 49076 7405 7043 14448 31% 28% 29%
Nkhata Bay 42427 41687 84114 11843 10735 22578 28% 26% 27%
Nkhotakota 61489 62288 123777 16765 17492 34257 27% 28% 28%
Nsanje 54263 51114 105377 11887 11366 23253 22% 22% 22%
Ntcheu 82777 86461 169238 26234 25456 51690 32% 29% 31%
Ntchisi 41477 44606 86083 12513 12480 24993 30% 28% 29%
Phalombe 68406 73625 142031 19730 21030 40760 29% 29% 29%
Rumphi 32472 31643 64115 10442 8879 19321 32% 28% 30%
Salima 68749 72855 141604 20890 21012 41902 30% 29% 30%
Thyolo 97170 101156 198326 28821 28657 57478 30% 28% 29%
Zomba Rural 108148 113244 221392 34329 34780 69109 32% 31% 31%
Zomba Urban 13365 14090 27455 2156 1979 4135 16% 14% 15%
241837 252525 494363 65306 64540 129846
Grand Total 6 7 3 2 5 7 27% 26% 26%
46
1.7.3.2. Promotion Rate
This indicator shows the proportion of learners who enrolled in a new grade (class) from last grade
they attended. It is calculated as current enrollment of a grade minus repeaters over enrollment from
last school session grade.
Table 23: Promotion Rates by District by Grade (Standard)
STD2 STD3 STD4 STD5 STD6 STD7 STD8

DISTRICT
M F M F M F M F M F M F M F
Balaka 64% 67% 68% 71% 64% 69% 73% 76% 59% 61% 67% 64% 63% 65%
Blantyre City 81% 85% 88% 88% 88% 92% 94% 96% 66% 72% 75% 70% 66% 63%
Blantyre Rural 73% 74% 87% 86% 70% 74% 77% 92% 64% 62% 67% 72% 54% 60%
Chikwawa 64% 65% 77% 75% 66% 66% 73% 72% 62% 61% 67% 64% 64% 53%
Chiradzulu 78% 78% 86% 92% 75% 77% 89% 91% 73% 74% 67% 69% 79% 65%
Chitipa 61% 65% 74% 78% 64% 67% 71% 72% 58% 65% 56% 68% 56% 56%
Dedza 67% 66% 80% 80% 57% 59% 75% 75% 56% 57% 63% 58% 67% 58%
Dowa 75% 78% 90% 89% 75% 80% 78% 81% 73% 77% 76% 77% 73% 73%
Karonga 65% 67% 77% 78% 69% 75% 71% 78% 60% 63% 64% 65% 63% 60%
Kasungu 69% 68% 79% 84% 66% 70% 78% 80% 61% 68% 65% 64% 63% 57%
Likoma 87% 67% 92% 76% 86% 60% 98% 102% 73% 91% 110% 98% 99% 101%
Lilongwe City 82% 88% 104% 97% 80% 81% 98% 96% 71% 69% 67% 73% 63% 61%
Lilongwe Rural East 73% 72% 89% 84% 63% 65% 73% 80% 57% 59% 70% 69% 60% 55%
Lilongwe Rural W. 71% 71% 84% 85% 63% 63% 66% 73% 60% 66% 67% 69% 71% 66%
Machinga 77% 75% 82% 82% 63% 66% 71% 75% 55% 57% 62% 63% 53% 53%
Mangochi 63% 64% 73% 70% 61% 64% 73% 74% 57% 60% 62% 65% 60% 60%
Mchinji 65% 67% 81% 85% 66% 74% 74% 75% 62% 67% 62% 63% 70% 68%
Mulanje 78% 79% 88% 87% 73% 75% 82% 83% 64% 66% 67% 69% 61% 58%
Mwanza 61% 63% 70% 73% 63% 66% 70% 83% 61% 59% 65% 64% 58% 65%
Mzimba North 65% 66% 77% 79% 67% 74% 75% 78% 64% 73% 66% 71% 61% 59%
Mzimba South 65% 67% 76% 82% 68% 75% 71% 79% 58% 66% 65% 70% 63% 64%
Mzuzu City 93% 93% 93% 92% 88% 98% 91% 93% 69% 83% 67% 72% 43% 49%
Neno 61% 63% 77% 74% 63% 70% 67% 72% 61% 62% 66% 63% 55% 54%
Nkhata Bay 66% 65% 80% 83% 72% 76% 73% 76% 64% 66% 71% 74% 76% 69%
Nkhotakota 75% 77% 89% 94% 73% 73% 81% 79% 67% 65% 72% 68% 62% 55%
Nsanje 62% 64% 72% 75% 63% 67% 74% 67% 62% 76% 69% 69% 67% 55%
Ntcheu 67% 69% 81% 78% 65% 67% 81% 77% 55% 60% 64% 63% 65% 61%
Ntchisi 62% 64% 74% 78% 66% 70% 73% 77% 64% 68% 73% 69% 68% 58%
Phalombe 76% 78% 79% 86% 71% 71% 75% 78% 55% 57% 66% 65% 62% 55%
Rumphi 65% 66% 80% 82% 69% 78% 79% 78% 64% 67% 70% 70% 63% 57%
Salima 61% 64% 78% 82% 58% 63% 76% 77% 51% 58% 56% 62% 67% 60%
Thyolo 70% 69% 84% 81% 67% 67% 78% 75% 62% 60% 67% 66% 61% 54%
Zomba Rural 67% 71% 77% 81% 62% 65% 75% 83% 53% 58% 59% 59% 50% 46%
Zomba Urban 96% 94% 111% 95% 92% 89% 89% 101% 83% 93% 83% 79% 51% 87%
Grand Total 69% 70% 81% 82% 67% 70% 77% 79% 61% 65% 66% 67% 63% 59%
47
1.7.3.3. Survival rate to Standard 5 and 8
The survival rate to standard 5 is used to estimate the percentage of students who will complete the
first cycle of primary education while that of Standard 8 estimates those that complete the last cycle
of primary education. Survival rates approaching 100 percent indicate a high level of retention and low
incidence of dropouts. The reliability of this indicator depends on the consistency of data on enrollment
and repeaters both in terms of coverage over time and across grades as it is calculated based on these
figures. A “synthetic cohort method” is applied to calculate this rate by assuming a group of pupils,
typically 1,000, who are enrolled together and proceed to the 5th grade and eventually 8th, sometimes
with repetition up to two times, and sometimes without. An increase in the survival rate indicates
efficiency in the education system as more students of a particular cohort are able to reach grade 5
and/or 8. The figures and tables below show the trend for Malawi in the past 5 years.
Figure 49: Trend in Survival Rates for Standard 5; 2019-2023
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Boys 64 65 59 59 66
Girls 67 71 63 64 71
Total 66 68 61 62 69
Figure 50: Trend in Survival Rates for Standard 8; 2019-2023
50
45
40
35
Survival Rate
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Boys 44 42 37 41 37
Girls 40 40 35 36 38
Total 42 41 36 39 39
48
The figure above depicts a decline in the survival rate of standard 8 from 42 in 2019 to 41 in 2020, it
drops further to 36 in 2021, it then rises to 39 in 2022 and stays steady for the year 2023. It is also seen
that the survival rate for girls has been lower than that of boys.
1.7.3.4. Primary Completion Rate PCR (Proxy Method)
Internationally, the PCR is an established measure of the outcomes of an education system. It has been
specified as one of the two major education indicators for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
It is calculated by dividing the total number of new entrants in the last grade of primary school by the
population of official age in the last grade.
The PCR is highly dependent on the accuracy of the single age repetition (i.e. age 13 for grade 8) and
the accurate measurement of repeaters in each grade. An increase in the PCR generally indicates an
improvement in the survival and retention of pupils in the education system.
Table 24: Primary Completion Rate
Population aged 13 New entrants in STD 8 Completion Rates

Year
Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Average
2019 220,284 225,919 446,203 114,985 114,102 229,087 52 51 51
2020 232,157 234,703 466,860 122,749 123,964 246,713 53 53 53
2021 232,354 239,320 471,674 117,088 118,671 235,759 50 50 50
2022 190,927 207,082 398,009 108,582 114,573 223,155 57 55 56
2023 242,761 244,244 487,005 111,527 121,263 232,790 46 50 48
1.7.3.5. Transition Rate (Primary to Secondary School)
UNESCO defines the Transition Rate as the number of pupils (or students) admitted to the first grade
of a higher level of education in a given year, expressed as a percentage of the number of pupils (or
students) enrolled in the final grade of the lower level of education in the previous year. The purpose
of this indicator is to convey information on the degree of access or transition from one cycle or level
of education to a higher one, in this case from primary to secondary school. High transition rates
indicate a high level of access or transition from one level of education to the next. They also reflect
the intake capacity of the next level of education. Inversely, low transition rates can signal problems
in the bridging of two cycles or levels of education due to either deficiency in the examination system
or inadequate admission capacity in the higher cycle or level of education, or both.
49
Figure 51: Transition rates by sex 2019-2023
50
40
30
20
10
0
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Male 38.1 37.3 35.8 42.7 47.4
Female 39.8 37.8 36.4 42.3 47.0
Total 38.9 37.6 36.5 42.5 47.2
The figure above shows the transition rates for the past 5 years where it shows a marginal increase
from 38.9 percent in 2019 and decreased to 37.6 in 2020, 36.5 in 2021 then increased to 42.5 in 2022
and further to 47.2 in 2023.
50
2 SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATION
Education is seen as a vehicle for promoting national consciousness and cohesion and as a catalyst for
economic development. The investment in secondary education in Malawi is essential towards
economic development and an entry in the modern sector of the economy. In the colonial era, the focus
was on free primary education which resulted to secondary education in Malawi being introduced late
and secondary school education was a privilege reserved for very few people. This, over time, has led
to great strides in the primary sub-sector with unmatching growth in secondary and it has led to low
transition from primary to secondary school. In the recent past, the government started investing in
expanding secondary schools. This has led to increased access to secondary education evidenced by
the increased enrollments in the sub-sector and has in turn increased the intake into tertiary education.
This section presents key statistical findings and indicators pertaining to the state and developments
of the secondary sub-sector for 2023 school year. These include school particulars, pupil information,
teacher information, infrastructure and sanitary facilities among others.
The secondary sub-sector is a feeder to tertiary education and other post-secondary school studies. As
such, the government continues to address challenges associated with access, quality and provision of
inclusive education.
2.1 Secondary School Particulars

In the census, school particulars were defined by:
Location - urban, semi urban and rural
Proprietor – an entity or individual who owns and runs the institution broadly categorized as public
and private secondary schools. Public secondary schools consist of government and religious schools
which are government aided. Religious institutions that operate as private were categorized as private.
2.1.1 Secondary School Location

The 2023 annual school census collected information on the location of secondary schools in Malawi.
Figure 52 shows 81 percent of secondary schools were in the rural areas, 14 percent in urban and 5
percent in semi urban areas. The previous academic year had almost the same percentages. However,
there has been an increase in the number of schools in these school locations whilst semi-urban has
declined. In the previous academic year, urban areas had 220, rural areas had 1283 and semi-urban
51
Figure 52: Schools by Location
Semi Urban Urban areas had 107 secondary schools. In this

14% Urban: 244
5%
Rural: 1438 academic year, urban areas have 244, rural
Semi-
areas have 1438 and semi-urban areas have
Urban: 92
92 secondary schools.
The Annual School Census collected

information on proprietorship of secondary
schools which are divided into categories
namely: public (government and religious)
and private schools. As shown in the figure
below, the results indicate an increase from
Rural
81%
the previous academic year that majority of
secondary schools are public at 76 percent
while private secondary schools at 24 percent. However, in the previous academic year, it was reported
that 78 percent were public schools and 22 percent were private secondary schools.
Figure 53: Number of Secondary Schools by Proprietor
Private
24%
Public: 1350
Private: 424
Public
76%
The figure above shows that 76 percent of the schools were public schools with a total of 1350 schools
and 24 percent were private schools that represented 424.
52
Table 25: Number of School by District and Proprietor
District Public Private Total
Chitipa 34 6 40
Karonga 49 9 58
Rumphi 41 8 49
Mzuzu City 22 14 36
Nkhata Bay 47 8 55
Likoma 3 1 4
Kasungu 58 9 67
Nkhotakota 38 11 49
Dowa 53 15 68
Ntchisi 23 3 26
Salima 36 6 42
Mchinji 26 6 32
Dedza 51 13 64
Ntcheu 44 21 65
Mangochi 63 16 79
Balaka 33 8 41
Machinga 42 7 49
Zomba Urban 12 8 20
Zomba Rural 36 6 42
Mwanza 11 11 22
Chikwawa 32 10 42
Nsanje 24 6 30
Chiradzulu 42 12 54
Thyolo 64 18 82
Mulanje 56 12 68
Phalombe 31 6 37
Neno 19 7 26
Total 1350 424 1774
The table above shows that the highest number of schools are in Lilongwe City with a total of 108
secondary schools, followed by Thyolo with 82 secondary schools and Likoma had the least number
of secondary schools with a total of 4 schools. There are varying percentages of public relative to
private schools across the districts. The results above show that Mzimba South had the most public
schools with a total of 65 schools and 10 private schools. While, the results show that Lilongwe City
has more private schools with a total of 52 and 56 public schools.
53
2.1.2 Secondary School Types
The census further collected data on the number of public schools by type. The categories were Open
Secondary School (OSS), CDSS Non-Cost Centers, CDSS Cost Centers, District Day, District
Boarding, Grant- Aided Boarding or National Secondary Schools
Figure 54: Number of schools by school type
600 505
412 419
400 300
200 61
4 28 45
0
National Grant Aided District District Day CDSS Non-Cost Private School Open School CDSS Cost
Boarding Boarding Boarding Centres Centres
Schools by type
In 2021/2022, it was reported that there were 482 CDSS Cost Centers and in the 2022/23 academic
year, there has been an increase as the results above show that there were 505 CDSS cost centers.
These results are followed by open schools that have 419 schools which is an increase from the
previous academic year. The least number of schools by school type are National Boarding that only
has 4 schools.
2.1.2.1. Number of Open Day Secondary Schools
Open Day Secondary Schools (OSS) complement the efforts of making secondary education accessible
to everyone who desires to enroll despite their age. These schools were formerly known as night
schools and enroll students who were not formerly selected but managed to get a pass. The system
uses the existing infrastructure in schools to accommodate these students.
Figure 55: Trend in Number of Open Day Secondary Schools
500
419
Number of Schools
400 327
306 303 287
300
200
100
0
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Open Schools
54
The results above show the trend of open day secondary schools in five years. The figure above shows
from 2019 to 2021, there has been a decrease in the number of Open Day Secondary Schools from 306
to 287 respectively. In 2023, the number of Open Day Secondary Schools has increased to 419 from
327 in 2022.
2.1.3 Number of Secondary Schools
Despite the many efforts to increase access to secondary education, transition rates from primary to
secondary schools still remain on the lower side. The government continues to construct secondary
schools so that absorption rate of primary school graduates is increased at secondary school level.
Figure below shows a trend in the number of secondary schools in Malawi across a period of 5 years.
Figure 56: Trend in the Number of Secondary Schools
2000
1800
1600
1400
Axis Title
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Public 1144 1181 1177 1259 1350
Private 308 313 347 351 424
Total 1452 1494 1524 1610 1774
The figure above shows that between the five years, the number of secondary schools increases every
year. As the figure illustrates, from 2019 there were 1452 schools, in 2020 there were 1494 schools
while in 2021, there were 1524 schools and between 2022 and 2023, there has been an increase in
schools from 1610 to 1774. In the five-year period, the number of public schools has continuously
increased from 1144 in 2019 to 1350 in 2023. Similarly, the number of private schools has increased
from 308 in 2019 to 424 in 2023
2.1.4 Secondary School Types of Institutions
The 2023 Annual School Census collected information on the number of schools by the type of
institution. These types of institutions are categorized as co-education(mixed), Boys only or Girls only.
55
Figure 57: Number of Schools by Type of The results show that the majority of secondary
Institution
schools in the country are Co-Educational which
3%
2% adds up to 95 percent. The 2023 Annual School
Census results further indicate that 3 percent of
the secondary schools are Girls only, while 2
percent are boys only. The table below shows
number of schools by institution type by district
95%
which shows that Lilongwe city has the highest
number of Co-Educational secondary schools at
Co-Educational (Mixed) Boys Only Girls Only 100, whilst Likoma has the lowest number of co-
educational schools at 4. The results further reveal that Lilongwe City has the highest number of Boys
Only schools at 5, while the highest Girls Only school was reported from Mangochi with a total of 7
schools
Table 26: Number of schools by Institution type

District Co-Educational (Mixed) Boys Only Girls Only Total
Chitipa 39 0 1 40
Karonga 54 2 2 58
Rumphi 45 3 1 49
Mzimba North 68 0 3 71
Mzimba South 71 2 2 75
Mzuzu City 35 0 1 36
Nkhata Bay 51 1 3 55
Likoma 4 0 0 4
Kasungu 66 0 1 67
Nkhotakota 48 0 1 49
Dowa 64 1 3 68
Ntchisi 26 0 0 26
Salima 40 1 1 42
Mchinji 31 0 1 32
Lilongwe City 100 5 3 108
Lilongwe Rural East 44 3 2 49
Dedza 58 3 3 64
Ntcheu 62 1 2 65
Mangochi 69 3 7 79
Balaka 37 2 2 41
Machinga 48 0 1 49
Zomba Urban 18 1 1 20
Zomba Rural 40 1 1 42
Blantyre City 73 4 3 80
Blantyre Rural 76 1 0 77
Mwanza 22 0 0 22
56
Chikwawa 40 1 1 42
Nsanje 30 0 0 30
Thyolo 82 0 0 82
Mulanje 64 0 4 68
Phalombe 36 1 0 37
Neno 25 0 1 26
Total 1675 41 58 1774
2.1.5 School Shifts
The Government introduced learning shifts in some secondary schools to ease student congestion and
to improve access to secondary schools. The school shift was defined as;
 Single shift- a type of school whereby a group of students come in the morning for classes and by
noon/afternoon they are done for the day.
 Double shift - a type of school that operates in two groups, with one group in the morning and
another group in the afternoon
Figure 58: Number of Schools by shift
3%
97%
Single Double
The figure above shows that the majority of secondary schools practice single shifts at 1723 schools
and this represents 97 percent. On the other hand, 3 percent of secondary schools practice double shifts
with a total of 51 schools.
57
2.1.6 Location and Accessibility During Rainy Season
2.1.6.2 Location
The study collects data on the number of schools based on its location. Schools from cities,
districts and towns were regarded as urban, rural, semi-urban, respectively. The results indicate
14 percent of the schools are in urban areas, 5 percent of the schools are in semi-urban and the
majority of the schools are in rural areas at 81 percent.
2.1.6.2. Accessibility
The Annual School Census found that one of the key elements which affect education systems
is the availability of Teaching and Learning Materials (TLMs). Timely delivery of these is of
great importance at school level. The 2023 Annual School Census sought to find out how many
schools are accessible during the rainy season. As such, the table below shows accessibility of
schools by district and location and district.
Table 27: Location of Schools by their Accessibility During Rainy Season by District
Urban Rural Semi Urban
Is School Accessible by Is School Accessible by Is School Accessible by
Road During Rainy Road During Rainy Road During Rainy
District Season Season Season
Yes No Yes No Yes No
Chitipa 0 0 29 11 0 0
Karonga 0 0 42 4 12 0
Rumphi 0 0 41 8 0 0
Mzimba North 0 0 63 8 0 0
Mzimba South 0 0 67 8 0 0
Mzuzu City 36 0 0 0 0 0
Nkhata Bay 0 0 41 10 4 0
Likoma 0 0 3 1 0 0
Kasungu 0 0 45 11 11 0
Nkhotakota 0 0 44 5 0 0
Dowa 0 0 57 5 6 0
Ntchisi 0 0 17 9 0 0
Salima 0 0 28 9 5 0
Mchinji 0 0 29 1 2 0
Lilongwe City 108 0 0 0 0 0
Dedza 0 0 38 18 8 0
Ntcheu 0 0 53 11 1 0
Mangochi 0 0 56 11 12 0
Balaka 0 0 27 11 2 1
Machinga 0 0 37 5 7 0
58
Zomba Urban 20 0 0 0 0 0
Zomba Rural 0 0 32 10 0 0
Blantyre City 79 1 0 0 0 0
Blantyre Rural 0 0 62 12 3 0
Mwanza 0 0 12 5 5 0
Chikwawa 0 0 31 11 0 0
Nsanje 0 0 26 4 0 0
Chiradzulu 0 0 42 10 1 1
Thyolo 0 0 52 19 11 0
Mulanje 0 0 52 16 0 0
Phalombe 0 0 29 8 0 0
Neno 0 0 11 15 0 0
Total 243 1 1162 276 90 2
The results indicate that only one school in urban areas is not accessible during the rainy season
in Blantyre City. The results further show that 276 of the rural secondary schools were
inaccessible while 1162 were accessible. Similarly, 2 of the 92 secondary schools in the semi
urban areas are not accessible during the rainy season.
2.1.7 Supervisory and Inspection Visits
Supervisory and inspection visits ensure quality of education delivery. Mostly, it is an

evaluation of a school to ensure that the schools have improved at any given time compared to
the last inspection/supervisory report on quality of teaching, how well pupils learn and how
well teachers assess pupils’ work
Table 28: Number of Supervisory Visits
Term 1 Term 2 Term 3
Number of Number of Number of

times Percentag times Percentag times Percentag
supervised e supervised e supervised e
One 298 17% 252 14% 211 12%
Two 49 3% 69 4% 43 2%
Three 24 1% 13 1% 24 1%
Morethan Three 14 1% 12 1% 14 1%
None 1389 78% 1428 80% 1482 84%
Total 1774 100% 1774 100% 1774 100%
The table above shows the number of supervisory visits in secondary schools per term. The
results reveal that in the first term, majority of the schools (1389) representing 78 percent didn’t
have any supervisory visits while 17 percent were supervised at least once a term. The situation
59
remained the same in second term where the results show that 80 percent of the schools were
not supervised and in the third term up to 84 percent of the schools did not have any supervisory
visit.
The table that follows shows number of schools that were inspected and how many times this
was done.
Table 29: Number of Schools Visited by Inspectors

. Number of Inspection visits previous year
Term 1 Term 2 Term 3
Number of Number of Number of
times Percentag times Percentag times Percentag
inspected e inspected e inspected e
One 214 12% 199 11% 147 8%
Two 29 2% 36 2% 28 2%
Three 11 1% 7 0% 14 1%
More Than Three 7 0% 8 0% 6 0%
None 1513 85% 1524 86% 1579 89%
Total 1774 100% 1774 100% 1774 100%
The results show that 85 percent of schools were not inspected in the first term. Similarly, the
results show a change to 86 percent in second term and the figure rose slightly to 88 percent in
the third term. As earlier indicated, these visits ensure that quality standards of education are
adhered to. As such, it is important to make sure that the number of inspectorate visits are
increased to make sure quality education is being delivered in the country’s secondary schools.
This has a huge bearing on education standards, student performance as well as teachers
maintaining quality teaching practices.
2.1.8 Community Participation and External Assistance
2.1.8.1. Community Participation
Community participation involves members from villages or areas within the school catchment
at large taking part in decision making and supporting secondary school management. The
category of the stakeholders includes PTA, SMC, Mother groups, Board of Governors and
Community volunteers.
Almost all schools reported to having these school bodies as part of their management
structures. With this, it is believed that it improves transparency and accountability of various
issues at school. Level of involvement is judged by how many times these school bodies meet
to plan for and implement their roles in the school management. The 2023 Annual School
60
Census sought to find out how active the various community groups are in respective schools.
The results are as shown in the figure below
Figure 59: Activeness in Community Participation
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
Community Board of
PTA SMC Mother Group Total
Volunteer Governors
ACTIVE 245 1206 899 840 334 3524
INACTIVE 163 86 97 172 91 609
NONE 1366 899 778 762 1349 5154
The figure above shows the activeness of community participation in the development of the
schools. The results show that 3524 were active in community participation, with PTA being
the most active from the stakeholders at 1206. On the other hand the stakeholders that reported
inactive were 609, with the most inactive stakeholder being the Mother Group reporting 172.
Further, the schools reported that none of the stakeholders were active with a summation of
5154, with Community Volunteer representing the most of none of them being active with
1366.
2.1.8.2. External Assistance
This is monetary or non-monetary assistance a school gets outside the government’s normal
financial assistance. This type of assistance might come from NGO’s, Cooperating Partners in
education, politicians, church leaders, companies and individuals. This type of assistance is
there to ensure quality education in schools.
61
Figure 60: Secondary Schools external assistance
23%
77%
Yes No
The figure above shows that the majority of the schools did not receive external assistance with
a total of 77 percent which is 1372 of the schools. Further, the results show that 402 schoolshad
received external assistance representing 23 percent of the schools.
2.2 Secondary School Student Information

This section provides information on students in secondary schools with respect to enrolment,
orphans, dropout, repetition and transfers. The section aims at establishing learner
demographics and other learner related information such as;
 Enrolment  Number of returnees

 Students with special learning needs  Transfers and deaths
 Streams  Orphans and Vulnerable
 Repeaters and drop-outs
2.2.6 Secondary School Enrolment

The 2023 Annual School Census captured Enrolment by division, form, school type,
proprietorship and gender to establish pupil distribution for better planning and allocation of
school teaching and learning material as well as financial support from government and other
stakeholders.
62
Table 30: Number of Students by Sex, proprietor, and form
Form Sex Private Public Grand Total

Male 11490 52910 64400
Form 1
Female 12177 52855 65032
Male 12169 53532 65701
Form 2
Female 13188 53155 66343
Male 11601 43773 55374
Form 3
Female 12650 40163 52813
Male 13584 46900 60484
Form 4
Female 14135 41368 55503
Total 100994 384656 485650
The results above show that the total enrolment for secondary schools in 2023 was at 485,650.
This represents a 10 percent increase from the previous academic year where enrolment was at
441,102. In addition, the table above shows that the majority of students were registered in
public schools with 384,656 students compared to last year where there were 347815 students.
While in private schools, the results show that there were 100,994 students and the previous
academic year had 93287 students. Further, the results show that there were more males
enrolled in secondary schools with a total of 245,959. While female students represented a
smaller number of students compromising of 239,691 students.
The official secondary school going age is 14-17 years. The 2023 Annual School Census
collected data on the distribution of students across forms by their ages. The results are as
shown in the table below:
Table 31: Secondary school age distribution
Form 1 Form 2 Form 3 Form 4

Age Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Total
<12 106 332 23 14 0 0 0 0 475
12 2,393 2,931 347 541 33 41 8 18 6,312
13 7,606 9,456 2,547 3,214 379 638 237 211 24,288
14 14,501 17,305 8,010 10,494 2,065 2,849 461 860 56,545
15 15,027 15,598 15,425 17,340 6,505 7,764 2,041 2,628 82,328
16 11,951 10,671 15,336 15,966 12,136 13,231 6,335 7,566 93,192
17 7,135 5,256 11,602 10,031 12,815 12,306 12,277 12,845 84,267
18 3,430 2,149 6,878 5,134 9,959 7,948 13,662 12,600 61,760
19 1,281 726 3,275 2,040 5,708 3,848 10,592 8,324 35,794
20 435 193 1,219 782 2,637 1,749 6,167 4,321 17,503
21 120 91 374 244 1,331 955 3,464 2,299 8,878
22 68 58 193 139 641 439 1,904 1,218 4,660
23 97 32 82 79 325 255 1,105 757 2,732
63
24 41 26 100 57 207 160 595 529 1,715
25 10 43 45 33 188 201 563 423 1,506
>25 199 165 245 235 445 429 1,073 904 3,695
Total 64,400 65,032 65,701 66,343 55,374 52,813 60,484 55,503 485,650
The proportion of the official secondary school going age relative to the similar age group in
the population will be demonstrated later in the report. However, the results displayed in the
table above indicate that the highest number of students is of age 16 with 93192 students which
is within the official school going age. The results above show in 2023 there were 475 students
that were under 12, as compared to the previous academic year in 2022, there were 576 students
that were under 12 years old. The figure below shows 2023 secondary school enrolment
percentage distribution by school type
Figure 61: Percentage of Secondary School Enrolment by School Type
40
34
35
30
25
21
19
20
15 12
10 7
5
5 3
1
0
National Grant Aided District District Day CDSS Non- Open School Private School CDSS Cost
Boarding Boarding Boarding Cost Centres Centres
The figure above shows that National Boarding Schools represented 1 percent of total
enrolment percentage while CDSS Cost Centers had the highest student enrolment percentage
at 34 percent. This could be attributed to the respective number of schools of each type as
discussed earlier the below table shows enrolment distribution by district.
64
Table 32: Secondary Schools enrolment by district, form and sex

District Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Total
Balaka 1644 1628 1573 1600 1346 1460 1334 1330 11915
Blantyre City 3238 3140 3418 3419 3265 3355 3910 4055 27800
Blantyre Rural 2257 2103 2322 2276 2017 1817 2432 1737 16961
Chikwawa 1743 1660 1840 1627 1435 1289 1526 1220 12340
Chiradzulu 1755 1732 1560 1590 1498 1281 1500 1147 12063
Chitipa 1218 1185 1258 1329 1191 1266 1524 1414 10385
Dedza 2441 2189 2391 2194 2089 1894 2113 1657 16968
Dowa 2592 2658 2571 2599 2102 1827 2317 1791 18457
Karonga 1791 1858 1954 2029 1667 1543 1909 1843 14594
Kasungu 2544 2757 2611 2789 1918 1949 2068 2082 18718
Likoma 167 143 158 128 105 79 144 75 999
Lilongwe City 5019 5385 5084 5266 4512 4610 5367 5374 40617
Machinga 1510 1642 1379 1544 1185 1216 1215 1145 10836
Mangochi 2354 3047 2198 2809 1744 2241 1678 1892 17963
Mchinji 1415 1510 1424 1643 1241 1207 1390 1467 11297
Mulanje 2436 2724 2394 2573 2520 2569 2520 2546 20282
Mwanza 645 656 744 746 566 463 602 534 4956
Mzimba North 1794 2177 1793 2267 1266 1453 1452 1514 13716
Mzimba South 2065 1961 2233 2201 1963 1597 1873 1667 15560
Mzuzu City 1986 2139 2306 2480 2199 2227 2383 2544 18264
Neno 664 761 686 772 511 614 423 408 4839
Nkhata Bay 1495 1539 1593 1632 1231 1146 1473 1297 11406
Nkhotakota 1824 1748 1922 1715 1298 1073 1487 1122 12189
Nsanje 1172 957 1230 1120 1006 639 910 521 7555
Ntcheu 2154 2231 2550 2492 2013 1869 2280 1984 17573
Ntchisi 1084 1088 882 943 768 600 693 560 6618
Phalombe 1287 1132 1330 1062 1145 1014 1170 1026 9166
Rumphi 1434 1329 1621 1435 1269 1060 1653 1201 11002
Salima 1590 1430 1659 1542 1180 1081 1352 1257 11091
Thyolo 2933 2699 2851 2626 2402 2024 2327 1887 19749
Zomba Rural 1988 1946 1871 1733 1568 1415 1441 1354 13316
Zomba Urban 1247 1102 1301 1134 1187 1052 1480 1332 9835
Grand Total 64400 65032 65701 66343 55374 52813 60484 55503 485650
The results above are similar to the previous academic year where Lilongwe city recorded the
highest enrolment at 35207 in the 2022 schools year. The table above shows that in 2023
Lilongwe City recorded the highest Secondary School enrolment with 40617 students. The
district with the highest enrolment was followed by Blantyre City which recorded 27800
students. Further, Likoma had registered the lowest enrolment at 980 students in 2022
65
The 2023 Annual School Census further collected data on enrolment by school location. The
results in the figure below reveal that enrolment was the highest in rural schools representing
73 percent, this was followed by schools in Urban areas representing 20 percent and Semi-
Urban schools with the lowest representing 7 percent of enrolment.
Figure 62: Number of Secondary School Learners by location and sex

300000
250000
200000
150000
100000
50000
0
Rural Semi Urban Urban Grand Total
Male 180430 17627 47902 245959
Female 175254 15823 48614 239691
The figure above shows that there was higher male enrolment relative to females in rural
schools, whereby in rural schools’ males represented 180430 students while females recorded
175254. Similarly, in semi-urban schools’ males reported the highest enrolment with 17627
and females reported 15823. While in Urban areas, females represented the highest enrolment
at 48614 and males represented 47902.
Figure 63: Secondary school enrolment by division
300000
250000
200000
150000
100000
50000
0
CEED CWED NED SEED SHED SWED Total
Male 34512 61896 48168 31243 31578 38562 245959
Female 32671 61179 47758 32622 29572 35889 239691
66
The figure above shows that the majority of enrolment is in CWED with males representing
61896 while females represent 61179. The results are followed by NED representing males at
48168 and females representing 47758. The division representing the least enrolment is SHED
with 31578 males and 29572 females.
Table 33: Secondary Enrolment by Subject

Subject Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female
English 64319 64755 65987 66186 55703 52750 61288 55974
Mathematics 64305 64825 65985 66228 55846 52936 61201 55920
Chichewa 64894 64578 65588 65803 55388 51999 59544 53630
Agriculture 63848 64513 65275 66197 54361 51254 58814 53236
Biology 64067 64670 65631 65823 54804 51564 59861 54380
Geography 62672 63531 64170 63982 43854 41135 44586 39799
History 58047 58614 57254 57426 33395 31363 30817 27727
Bible Knowledge 32958 33595 31469 32380 17797 17321 15051 14532
Computer Studies 8452 8772 7472 7641 3771 3779 2727 2529
Social Studies 56872 57775 57486 57801 38175 36007 37509 34772
Life Skills 55122 55948 55468 55736 36213 33953 36844 33095
Home Economics 3124 3456 2789 3350 1596 2381 1334 2069
Physics 62387 62837 62604 63340 40774 37275 38131 33090
Chemistry 62752 63321 62484 62693 40087 37106 37511 32977
The results above show that the majority of the students study English, Mathematics and
Chichewa which are core subjects with 486,962, 487,246 and 481,424 respectively. However,
number of students varied across all other subjects with home economics registering the least
number of students reporting 20,099 students.
2.2.7 Re-admitted students in Secondary Schools

The 2023 Annual School Census collected information on students that were readmitted to
school after dropping out. The figure below shows the number of students readmitted in the
2023 school year by form and sex.
67
Figure 64: Number of re-admitted students by form and sex
4000
3156
3000 2368
2000
1000 470 609 710 909 660 886 528 752
788
139 199 226 224
0
Form 1 Form 2 Form 3 Form 4 Total
Male Female Total
The results show that there has been an increase in the number of students re-admitted into
school. In the previous academic year, it was reported that 3025 students were re-admitted
while in 2023 the re-admission of students has increased to 3156 across the country. The results
show that 75 percent were readmitted in schools across the country, while males represented
25 percent of the readmitted students. The results show that most students were readmitted in
form 2 with a total of 909, while form 1 reported to have the least students readmitted.
Table 34: Number of re-admitted students by District

District Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Total
Chitipa 2 3 1 2 4 11 7 4 34
Karonga 2 6 5 3 6 16 13 14 65
Rumphi 0 5 6 13 9 38 17 18 106
Mzimba North 5 11 6 6 11 27 21 23 110
Mzimba South 5 8 24 19 10 24 31 22 143
Mzuzu City 0 0 3 0 0 1 16 14 34
Nkhata Bay 1 6 4 9 20 28 37 27 132
Likoma 0 0 1 1 3 2 4 3 14
Kasungu 5 16 5 5 10 28 10 14 93
Nkhotakota 1 6 4 4 7 23 12 4 61
Dowa 11 7 4 1 11 17 18 19 88
Ntchisi 11 4 7 11 11 13 15 13 85
Salima 6 3 7 4 10 13 9 9 61
Mchinji 4 6 7 7 16 30 10 20 100
Lilongwe City 4 24 19 26 18 48 36 35 210
Dedza 5 6 5 5 14 28 20 15 98
Ntcheu 6 5 3 8 10 25 24 27 108
Mangochi 5 5 6 1 31 31 24 19 122
Balaka 0 5 9 5 7 17 21 6 70
Machinga 3 2 4 6 100 15 18 15 163
Zomba Urban 3 3 0 1 3 10 6 2 28
Zomba Rural 3 2 7 4 16 17 22 8 79
Blantyre City 5 9 18 20 5 22 35 38 152
Blantyre Rural 2 8 18 21 15 41 48 41 194
Mwanza 20 0 3 1 1 2 6 5 38
68
Chikwawa 3 8 7 2 4 15 24 13 76
Nsanje 1 3 5 1 8 19 18 10 65
Chiradzulu 2 0 3 2 15 19 26 9 76
Thyolo 1 9 7 5 20 34 29 23 128
Mulanje 1 5 3 1 13 27 22 10 82
Phalombe 1 2 2 1 15 8 14 7 50
Neno 3 2 0 1 6 13 3 3 31
Total 139 199 226 224 470 710 660 528 3156
In addition, the results show that Lilongwe City readmitted the highest number of students at
210. The results were followed by Blantyre Rural which had 194 student that were readmitted
and the least number of students readmitted were in Likoma with 14 students readmitted.
2.2.8 Orphanhood and Vulnerability in Secondary Schools

2.2.3.1. Secondary School Orphans
The Annual School Census categorizes orphans into two;

i. Single orphan - where a single parent is dead
ii. Double orphan- where both parents are dead
In the previous academic year, the results revealed that there were 58422 Students of secondary
enrolment were reported as orphans. However, in 2023 the number of students of secondary
orphans has increased to 63748. The figure below shows the number of orphans by form, sex
and type of orphan hood.
Figure 65: Orphans by form, sex and type of orphan hood
70000
60000
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female
Single Parent Died 6113 6280 5494 6015 4897 4927 4660 4586 42972
Both Parents Died 2738 2949 2590 2768 2397 2510 2389 2435 20776
Total 8851 9229 8084 8783 7294 7437 7049 7021 63748
69
In previous academic year, the number of students who had a single parent that died was 40094,
while the students that had both parents that died were 18328. In 2022/2023, the results above
show an increase in number of students whose single parent died representing with 42972.
While, the students that both parents died were representing 20776. Further, the table above
shows that there were more females than males as they reported to be orphans in form 1 and
form 2, with 9229 and 8783 respectively. While the male students showed that there were more
orphans in form 1 and 2, reported 8851 and 8084 respectively.
2.2.3.2. Vulnerable Students in Secondary School
These are children lacking basic needs and parental care for their learning. The 2023 annual
school census collected data on the number of vulnerable students by their sex and form. The
categories of vulnerability included: Lack of school fees, Lack of Learning materials, Hunger
and Lack of School Uniform. The table below shows these results by sex and type of
vulnerability.
Figure 66: Vulnerable students by sex and type of vulnerability
180000
160000
140000
120000
100000
80000
60000
40000
20000
0
Lack of learning Lack of school
Lack of school fees Hunger Total
materials uniform
Male 30419 19922 12403 18393 81137
Female 29136 20754 12965 18119 80974
Total 59555 40676 25368 36512 162111
In the previous academic year, the number of vulnerable students that were reported as
vulnerable were 131849 of the total enrolment. However, the results above show an increase
that there were 162111 students which was representing 33 percent of the total student
enrolment in 2023 academic year. The results above show that the majority of the students
were vulnerable to the Lack of school fees which was representing 37 percent of the total
number of vulnerable students, followed by the lack of learning materials representing 25
percent of the total number of vulnerable students, hunger represented 23 percent of the
students and the lack of school uniform being the least vulnerability at 16 percent.
70
2.2.9 Student Bursaries in Secondary School
Bursary is broadly defined as a non-monetary support given to vulnerable students that meet a
specific financial eligibility criterion. Bursaries assist vulnerable students who lack non-
monetary support to enable them to attend school. The 2023 Annual School Census collected
data on the number of students who applied and those who actually received the bursaries in
the academic year.
Figure 67: Students who applied and received bursaries by form and sex
120000
100000
80000
60000
40000
20000
0
Male Female Total
Bursary Applicants 51868 61480 113348
Bursary Receipients 9969 15117 25086
In the previous academic year, it was reported that 57661 applied for a bursary and 21861
students received bursaries. While in 2023, the results above show that many students applied
for a bursary representing 113348, however, the students that received bursaries were 25086
of the ones that applied for bursaries. The results above show that there were more female
applicants and more females received bursaries where the number of females that applied was
61480 and the number of females that received were 15117. While, the number of males that
applied were 51868 and the students that received were 9969.
The results show that males represent 46 percent and females represent 54 percent of the
bursary applicants. While, number of males that received bursaries represent 40 percent and
females represent 60 percent. The results show a similar situation across districts where number
of students that received bursaries are less than those that applied. It is important to accelerate
efforts to increase the number of students that access bursaries.
71
2.2.10 Special Needs Students in Secondary School
The 2023 Annual School Census collected information on the number of students with special
needs by form and their specific disability. The figure below shows the results by type of
impairment
Figure 68: Students with special needs by type of disability
Deaf-blind 99
Albinism 287
Visual Impairment (Blind) 292
Hearing Impairment (Deaf) 510
Physical disability 661
Hearing Impairment (Hard of hearing) 1299
Learning difficulty 4051
Visual Impairment (low vision) 4072
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500
In the previous academic year, the results revealed that 9281 secondary school students were
reported as special needs students in the 2022 academic year. While in 2023, it was reported
that 11271 students were special needs students of the total student enrolment. The figure above
shows that the highest number of learners are reported to be visually impaired with 4072
students, followed by students with learning difficulties that had 4051 special needs students.
While the least number of students were Deaf-blind and there were 99 special needs students
of the total student enrolment.
Table 35: Students with Impairment by Sex and Form

Impairment Total
M F M F M F M F
Learning difficulty 602 675 516 566 391 426 400 475 4,051
Blind 36 52 51 35 19 33 32 34 292
Low vision 590 644 509 597 386 454 445 447 4,072
Deaf 74 89 76 84 54 40 56 37 510
Hard of hearing 242 181 180 226 126 130 92 122 1,299
Deaf-blind 2 3 5 2 3 3 81 0 99
Physical disability 122 126 94 106 85 80 0 48 661
Albinism 32 42 37 44 33 41 29 29 287
Total 1,700 1,812 1,468 1,660 1,097 1,207 1,135 1,192 11,271
72
2.2.11 Secondary School Repeaters
This indicator measures the proportion of students who have remained in the same grade for
two or more consecutive years by retaking the grade or returning more than once Repeating a
class means a pupil is using more public resources than allocated to him or her. Evidence shows
that high repetition rates do not favor a better mastery of learning, increase the risk of dropping
out and have adverse effects on pupil-teacher ratio and costs. The 2023 annual school census
collected the number of repeaters in secondary schools.
Figure 69: Repeaters by form and sex
14000 12714
12000
10000
8000 6126 6588
5602
6000
3560
4000 2926 2840 2762
1279 1647 1728 1832
2000 279 347 626
0
Male Female Total
In the previous academic year, it was reported that there were 10682 students that repeated that
academic year. In the results, males were 5105 and females represented 5577. However, in
2023 there has been an increase in number of repeaters with a total of 12714. The figure above
shows that the number of students repeating were 6588 females and 6126 male students.
Further, the results show that the majority of the repeaters in most schools is in form 4
representing 5602, while the least number of repeaters were in form 1 with 626 students
Table 36: Repeaters by form, sex and type of school

Type of School M F M F M F M F Total
National Boarding 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 3
Grant Aided Boarding 3 29 5 2 5 26 0 0 70
District Boarding 0 1 10 10 3 5 8 2 39
District Day 2 4 11 24 29 41 35 43 189
CDSS Cost Centres 47 79 215 358 248 235 275 260 1,717
CDSS Non-Cost Centres 73 74 198 290 122 119 212 160 1,248
Open School 23 31 537 599 662 739 1,167 1,137 4,895
Private School 131 129 307 367 672 681 1,206 1,220 4,713
Total 279 347 1,285 1,650 1,741 1,846 2,903 2,823 12,874
73
The table above shows that open schools reported the highest number of repeaters representing
4,895. With the increase of open schools in the academic year, there has been an increased
number of repeaters, followed by private schools that have a total of 4,713 students that
repeated in that academic year. Meanwhile, National boarding secondary schools reported to
have the least number of students that repeated in the academic year with 3 students.
2.2.12 Secondary School Dropouts

A student that leaves school before completing a particular academic year is regarded as drop-
out. Dropping out could be due to several reasons such as Family Responsibility, Pregnancy,
Marriage, School Fees (Unable to pay), Employment, sickness, Poor Inadequate Teachers,
Long distances, Violence (GBV) and Lack of Interest. This data is found by comparing results
from previous school year of 2021/22. The table below shows the number of dropouts by form,
sex and reason for dropping out.
Table 37: Dropout by form, sex and reason

Reason for Dropout M F M F M F M F Total
Family Responsibility 190 232 172 252 193 209 160 203 1611
Pregnancy 11 605 25 894 26 763 23 557 2904
Marriage 142 409 202 573 197 516 201 381 2621
School Fees (unable to pay) 1544 1498 1282 1334 1045 1025 808 683 9219
Employment 55 10 45 17 71 20 68 38 324
Sickness 27 59 40 60 32 42 39 60 359
Poor 68 70 33 46 42 49 21 28 357
Inadequate Teachers 69 81 82 80 72 65 60 43 552
Long distances 341 381 235 307 170 204 133 145 1916
Violence (GBV) 10 7 5 7 12 3 19 6 69
Lack of Interest 367 291 340 259 284 225 191 184 2141
Total 2824 3643 2461 3829 2144 3121 1723 2328 22073
In the previous academic year, it was reported that 23063 students dropped out in that academic
year. While in 2023, there has been a decrease in the number of students that dropped out
representing 22073. The results show that female students represent the highest number of
dropouts at 59 percent with the total of 12921. While the male students represent 41 percent of
the number of students that dropped out with the total of 9152 students. Further the results
show that the majority of students dropped out because of School fees (Unable to pay) with a
total of 9219 students, these results were followed by pregnancy being the reason for students
74
to drop out with a total of 2904. The percentage distribution of dropout by reason is shown in
the figure below
Figure 70: Percentage distribution of dropout reasons
Violence (GBV) 0
Employment 1
Poor 2
Sickness 2
Inadequate Teachers 3
Family Responsibilty 7
Long distances 9
Lack of Interest 10
Marriage 12
Pregnancy 13
School Fees (unable to pay) 42
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
The results above show that the highest number of students that dropped out of school was
because of school fees (unable to pay) representing 42 percent, these results were followed by
pregnancy which represented 13 percent of the students that dropped out. Further, the least
number of students that dropped out was because of violence which represented zero percent
and it was followed by employment which represented 1 percent.
2.2.7.1. Secondary School Dropouts by Sex and Form
The figure below shows the distribution of dropouts by Form and sex
Figure 71: Dropouts by form and sex
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
Male 2824 2461 2144 1723 9152
Female 3643 3829 3121 2328 12921
Total 6467 6290 5265 4051 22073
75
The figure above shows that there were 22073 dropouts in the academic year. The results
indicate that there were more females that dropped out with a total of 12921 students that
dropped out. While, the male students had a total of 9152 students that dropped out in the
academic year. Further the results show that form 1 had the most students that dropped out with
a total of 6467 students followed by form 2 that had a total of 6290 students that dropped out
in that academic year. The least dropouts were in form 4, with 4051 students that dropped out.
2.2.13 Secondary School Transfers

Transfers show student migration across districts and education divisions. Student migration
affects districts budgets in either positive or negative way. In the Annual School Census,
transfers were categorized as transfers in and transfers out.
Table 38: Distribution of Transfers’ in and out by district

District Transfer In Transfer Out Net
Balaka 438 307 131
Chikwawa 566 314 252
Chitipa 322 161 161
Dedza 569 381 188
Dowa 549 514 35
Karonga 611 310 301
Kasungu 856 619 237
Likoma 3 3 0
Machinga 373 245 128
Mangochi 627 403 224
Mchinji 502 312 190
Mulanje 688 342 346
Mwanza 200 126 74
Mzuzu City 1077 544 533
Neno 127 79 48
Nkhata Bay 582 400 182
Nsanje 261 165 96
Ntcheu 1002 830 172
Ntchisi 216 160 56
Phalombe 248 134 114
Rumphi 786 482 304
Salima 268 140 128
Thyolo 668 471 197
76
Grand Total 20909 13464 7445
The results above show that the schools received more students this academic year than those
that left the school. Lilongwe City has more students going into their schools with 1871
students, these results were followed by Blantyre City had 1758 that transferred into the
schools. The rest of the districts also show that there were more students that transferred into
the schools than left the schools.
2.2.14 Students dismissed and deaths

The 2023 Annual School Census collected information on the number of students that died and
those that were dismissed from school in the previous school year.
Figure 72: Number of students died and dismissed
1800
1540
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600 395 436
400 231 213
125 101 156
200 24 19 31 37 24 65 38 18 37 16
0
Died Dismissed
In the previous academic year, the number of students that died was reported as 373 and the
number of students that were dismissed was reported as 1566 students. While the results in
2023, show that there has been a decrease in the number of students that died and were
dismissed. The results show that there were 213 students that died and 1540 students that were
dismissed. The table above shows that there were more males that died and were dismissed.
The highest number of students dismissed was in form 4 with 436 males and 156 females,
followed by students in form 3 that had 395 males that were dismissed and 101 females that
were dismissed. While the highest number of students that died was in form 3 with 38 males
and 18 females.
77
2.3 Secondary School Streams
Streamlining is the practice of placing students with other comparable skills or needs as in
classes or groups but of the same form. The figure below shows the number of streams in each
form as reported in the 2023 Annual School Census
Figure 73: Number of streams in Secondary School
2350 2327
2301
2300
2250 2230
2218
2200
2150
FORM1 FORM2 FORM3 FORM4
The previous academic year had 8406 streams in the country, however there has been an
increase in the number of streams to 9076 in 2023. The figure above shows that form one has
the highest number of streams with a total of 2327 in 2023 as compared to the previous
academic year where the total number of streams in form 1 was reported 2148. Further, the
results show that form 4 had the least number of streams with a total of 2218.
Table 39: Number of streams by district

District FORM1 FORM2 FORM3 FORM4 Total
Balaka 55 58 55 54 222
Blantyre City 133 135 134 144 546
Blantyre Rural 93 94 95 91 373
Chikwawa 53 52 48 48 201
Chiradzulu 65 60 60 59 244
Chitipa 47 47 48 48 190
Dedza 80 77 74 68 299
Dowa 96 95 84 86 361
Karonga 78 78 77 77 310
Kasungu 99 98 92 92 381
Likoma 5 5 5 5 20
Lilongwe City 167 172 165 173 677
Lilongwe Rural East 61 60 58 59 238
Machinga 58 55 55 53 221
Mangochi 98 95 92 91 376
Mchinji 40 41 41 42 164
Mulanje 93 89 83 83 348
Mwanza 24 23 22 23 92
Mzimba North 84 83 80 81 328
Mzimba South 84 88 83 83 338
Mzuzu City 62 63 63 66 254
78
Neno 29 29 28 22 108
Nkhata Bay 69 66 64 60 259
Nkhotakota 64 63 58 58 243
Nsanje 37 36 34 34 141
Ntcheu 75 77 76 77 305
Ntchisi 35 32 30 28 125
Phalombe 47 46 44 39 176
Rumphi 59 57 57 58 231
Salima 53 52 49 47 201
Thyolo 100 100 99 94 393
Zomba Rural 54 51 51 51 207
Zomba Urban 45 44 45 45 179
Grand Total 2327 2301 2230 2218 9076
2.4 Secondary School Infrastructure and Sanitation Information

The 2023 Annual School Census collected data on Infrastructure and Sanitation information.
One of the limiting factors for accessing secondary education is availability of quality school
infrastructure and sanitation. Evidence has shown that quality, relevant and adequate
infrastructure is key in retaining and improving attendance of students especially girls in
secondary education. The 2023 Annual School Census captured all infrastructure including
classrooms, SNE resources rooms, hostels, laboratories, libraries and offices. All infrastructure
is disaggregated by: permanent and temporary; construction and under construction; and in use
and not in use.
Investment in Education has been crucial for development. The construction of infrastructures
is one of the strategies aimed at increasing access to secondary education. Construction of
infrastructure data shows the efforts being made by the subsector to expand secondary
education and the expected growth in the enrolment of secondary school students there by
increasing primary to secondary transition rates. The figure below shows a comparison in the
number of permanent buildings in secondary schools in 2023
Figure 74: Infrastructure by type
8000 7403 7337

7000
6000 4870 4484
5000
4000
3000
2000 873 659
663 597 756 684
1000 64 76 272 241
0
Classrooms Special Needs Libraries TeachersHouses ChangeRooms Science Lab Computer Lab
ResourceRooms
2023 2022
79
The results above show that classrooms were the highest number of building type in both the
year 2022 and 2023. The Number of classrooms in 2022 was 7337, while in 2023 there was an
increase in classrooms with a total of 7403 classrooms. However, the number of special needs
resource rooms has reduced from 76 to 64 special needs resource rooms. Further, there has
been an increase in Teachers houses from 4484 in 2022 to 4870 in 2023, changerooms
increased from 684 in 2022 to 873 in 2023, science laboratories increased from 684 in 2022 to
756 in 2023 and computer laboratories from 241 in 2022 to 272 in 2023.
80
Table 40: Permanent Buildings by Type and district
81
Table 41: Permanent Buildings by type and district
The tables above show that the type of permanent buildings in a school and the results show that
classrooms had the highest number with a total of 7403. The results are followed by teachers houses
that were amounting to 4870 and 1060 girl’s hostels. Further, the table shows that Technical drawing
workshop has the least number of buildings in 2023
2.4.6 Classrooms
The overall availability of classrooms determines learning space and the extent to which
transition rate from primary to secondary can be improved. The 2023 Annual School Census
collected data on the available classrooms in the schools both Permanent and Temporary
82
Figure 75: Number of Classrooms in use
7600
7400
7200
7000
6800
6600
6400
6200
6000
5800
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Classrooms 6379 6976 7115 7337 7488
The 2023 Annual School Census shows that the total number of classrooms in secondary schools has
been steadily increasing during the past 5 years from 6379 in 2019 academic year to 7488 in 2023
academic year representing a 17 percent increase, 2 percent increase in classrooms is registered between
2022 and 2023 academic year. This can be attributed to governments efforts to construct classrooms
due to increase access to secondary school education thus increasing transition rate from primary to
secondary school by increase the secondary school uptake
In secondary schools most schools have permanent classrooms to accommodate all students unlike in
primary school where classrooms are allocated to senior classes, there was no much difference in
permanent classrooms among forms 1 to 4. However, variation was observed in temporary classrooms
where more temporary classrooms were allocated to lower secondary as shown in the table below.
Table 42: Classroom in use by type and form

Form Form Form
Description 1 2 3 Form 4 Total
Permanent Classrooms Available 1888 1895 1831 1874 7488
Temporary Classrooms Available 145 114 81 80 420
Total 2033 2009 1912 1954 7908
The table above shows the total number of permanent classrooms available representing 7488
classrooms. While temporary classrooms represent 420 classrooms. The total number of permanent
classrooms available across the classes is the same as compared to primary schools where the number
of classrooms is bias to senior class.
2.4.7 Availability of boarding facilities in Secondary

In secondary schools they are some students living away from home and residing on campus in a
dorm setting provides invaluable opportunities for personal growth. Boarding school students tend
to develop life skills such as time management, work ethic, and independence in an accelerated
83
manner than a day school student. The 2023 ASC collected information on the availability of
boarding facilities at a school. The overall results are as shown in the figure below
Figure 76: Availability of boarding facilities
24%
YES
NO
76%
The results reveal only 24 percent of the secondary schools in Malawi have boarding facilities with
a total of 421 schools while the 76 percent majority do not have a boarding facility in their schools
amounting to 1353 schools.
2.4.8 Furniture for Classrooms

Desks enable students to sit properly and create a classroom environment that is conducive for
learning. The 2023 annual school census collected information on student and teacher furniture
available in each form at the school. The furniture type was single and double desks, stools,
bench, forms, tables and chairs. The census also collected special needs furniture available in
each form. Furthermore, schools provided each of the furniture types that is damaged and not
in use as well as that which is required to suffice for each form. The table below shows student
furniture available by form and type
84
Figure 77: Available Student school furniture by form and type
450000
400000
350000
Number
300000
250000
200000
150000
100000
50000
0
Single Double
Stools Benches Forms Tables Chairs Total
Desks Desks
Form 1 32277 16346 2559 4161 2377 9255 31768 98743
Form 2 38035 14989 1354 2637 1735 10841 34422 104013
Form 3 41000 12795 1301 1432 1259 14346 35548 107681
Form 4 46812 12151 1432 1373 1151 15464 38925 117308
Total 158124 56281 6646 9603 6522 49906 140663 427745
The figure above shows that 37 percent of the furniture available is single desks amounting to 158124
single desks. These results are followed by chairs representing 33 percent of the furniture available with
a total of 140663 chairs. The results show that forms had the least amount available representing 2
percent of the available furniture with a total of 6522 forms. Further, the results show that in form 1,
there were 32277 single desks and in form 4 there were 46812 single desks. These results reveal that
the higher the form the more furniture is allocated to the same despite enrolment numbers not
following this pattern as earlier discussed in the report.
The figure below shows teacher furniture across forms by type
Figure 78: Available teacher school furniture by form and type
12000
10000
8000
Number
6000
4000
2000
0
Single Double
Desks Desks
Form 1 424 178 109 69 88 523 962 2353
Form 2 412 131 30 50 78 423 757 1881
Form 3 653 145 45 68 221 901 1377 3410
Form4 555 133 69 36 141 1302 1431 3667
Total 2044 587 253 223 528 3149 4527 11311
85
The figure above shows the available teacher school furniture, the results show that there has been
a decrease in the number of teacher furniture from the previous academic year as in 2022, the
number of available teacher school furniture was 12785. While in 2023, the total number of teacher
furniture is 11311. Further, the results show that in terms of teacher’s furniture, the highest amount
of furniture for teachers is chairs representing 40 percent of the available furniture with a total of
4527 chairs. These results are followed by teacher’s tables representing 28 percent with a total of
3149 tables. The furniture with the least available furniture was benches represented 2 percent of
the furniture with a total of 223 benches.
As earlier stated, the census collected available furniture available in secondary schools for students
with special needs students. The figure below shows the results.
Figure 79: Student special needs furniture in secondary schools by type
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Double
Single Desks Stools Benches Forms Tables Chairs
Desks
Furniture 197 239 115 87 31 115 509
The previous academic year had a total of 1457 special needs furniture. While in 2023 there has
been an increase in the total number special needs furniture with the total of 2289 special needs
furniture was available in secondary schools across the country. Chairs were the majority at 509,
followed by single desks at 197. Benches were the least available to special needs students with
only 87 of these were reported in all secondary schools.
The census further collected numbers of each furniture type that are damaged and are no longer in
use by students. These are not part of the numbers reported earlier as being available across the
different forms.
The figure below shows numbers of the damaged and no longer in use student furniture by type
86
Figure 80: Damaged furniture in secondary schools by type
Total
Chairs
Tables
Forms
Benches
Stools
Double Desks
Single Desks
0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000 40000 45000

Single Double
Desks Desks
Furniture 16398 5756 1120 850 532 5356 11668 41680
The previous academic year the number of damaged furniture was 40354 and in 2023 there has
been an increase in the total of 41680 furniture was reported damaged and not in use across all
schools. This is quite a huge figure that would ease furniture shortages if this furniture was repaired
and put to use by students. The results show that 39 percent of the furniture that was damaged was
single desks with the total of 16398, followed by 28 representing damaged chairs at 11668. While,
the results show that the least number of damaged furniture were forms at 1 percent with a total of
532. The figure below shows student furniture required by type
Figure 81: Student Furniture required by type
Total
Single Desks
Chairs
Tables
Double Desks
Stools
Benches
Forms
0 50000 100000 150000 200000 250000 300000 350000

Double
Forms Benches Stools Tables Chairs Single Desks Total
Desks
Furniture 11516 12759 29640 38535 40780 86418 100116 319764
87
The figure above shows the required furniture in schools by students and the figure shows that there
is a total of 319764 furniture was reported as required in all schools. Single desks were the highest
reported at 100116 followed by chairs which were at 86418 required in schools. Forms were the
least required reported at 11516.
2.5 Availability of Library
School libraries help students to get authentic information through the books written by reputed
scholars who come from different parts of the world. A library plays an important role in creating
a school culture which helps every student to grow on their individual basis as well. School libraries
enhance student achievement, improve reading, test scores, higher academic achievement, and
positive attitudes towards learning. The 2023 Annual School Census collected information on the
availability of a library at the school. The results are as shown in the figure below
Figure 82: Availability of library in Secondary

Schools From the figure, the results clearly
reveal that in the 2023 academic year
almost half of the schools reported to
not have a library. The importance of a
library at a school as highlighted in the
49% preceding cannot be over emphasized
51% as such it is imperative to channel more
efforts to making sure more schools
have a library facility available. This
would go a long way in improving the
learning outcomes in secondary schools
and eventually the actual learning
Yes No
outcomes. The 2023 Annual School
Census further sought to find out from the schools that have a library available, whether it is open
full time to be accessed by students or works on a part time basis. The study found that about 51 of
the schools have libraries in their schools with a total of 903, while 49 percent with a total of 871
school did not have a library.
2.5.6 Number of Useable special needs materials available by type

Equality in school is important and inclusion of special needs materials helps towards access
education for all. All students require different types of materials and students with disabilities
88
may have more specific needs. The types of materials needed to create an inclusive atmosphere
include; braille, large prints, audio and syllabi. The 2023 Annual School Census collected
information on the number of useable special needs materials available by type. The figure
below depicts the results
Figure 83: Number of Useable Special needs material available by type
SYLLABI 98
AUDIO 37
LARGE PRINT 113
BRAILE 121
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
The previous academic year had 277 Usable Special needs materials available, while in 2023
the number of usable special needs materials has increased to 369. The figure above shows that
Braille is the most usable special needs materials with a total of 121, these results are followed
by large print which has a total of 113 of usable special needs materials and Audio is the least
number of usable special needs material with a total of 37 schools that have usable special
needs material
2.6 Water Sources in Secondary Schools

Water source is an important resource at school level and with the cholera pandemic, water has
played a pivotal role in its prevention where frequent hand washing is a must in schools. The
2023 Annual School Census collected information on water source and established that the
majority of the schools rely on boreholes (43%) and piped water (42%), and 13% of the schools
reported to have no water. In addition to schools with no water, some schools use unprotected
water sources including the river, lake, unprotected spring and hand dug wells. The figure
below shows the water source in schools at national level.
89
Figure 85: Functionality of water sources Figure 84: Type of water source
PROTECTE RIVER, 2 UNPROTE

D SPRING, CTED
2 HAND-
PROTECTE DUG
D HAND- WELL, 2
16%
DUG WELL
WITH
PUMP, 14
PIPED
NO WATER, BOREHOL
752 E, 767
YES
84%
NO
WATER,
234 LAKE, 1
The figure above shows that 84 percent of the schools have functional water with a total of
1489 schools. While 16 percent of the school do not have functional water in their schools with
a total of 285 schools.
2.7 Electricity Source
Electricity is very critical in secondary education especially considering that most appliances
related to teaching and learning require electricity. Equally important is the fact that evening
studies are possible where electricity is available. Further to this, students are able to read
during the night where electricity is available which can positively contribute to their
performance since they have more time to study. The 2023 census collected information on
different types of electricity used in secondary schools. Below are the results.
Figure 86: Electricity Source
SOLAR POWER
13%
NO ELECTRICITY
18%
ESCOM
GENERATOR 67%
2%
ESCOM GENERATOR NO ELECTRICITY SOLAR POWER
90
The figure above illustrates the electricity sources that the schools have in their premises. The
results reveal that 67 percent of the schools which is 1059 schools use ESCOM as their source
of electricity, this is followed by schools that have no electricity with a total of 290 schools
representing 18 percent of the schools. Meanwhile, Generator was the least used source of
electricity representing 2 percent with 25 schools that use a generator.
2.8 Sanitation
Sanitary infrastructure is one the key basic hygiene infrastructures at school level. The 2023
Annual School Census collected data on toilet latrines, hand washing facilities and urinal
blocks. The data was disaggregated by male and female students and staff as well as facilities
in use. Pit latrines and Urinal blocks were categorized into basic and improved while flush
toilets were only categorized as improved. The results are as shown in the figure below.
Figure 87: Sanitary Infrastructure
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
Improved flush Pit Latrines Pit Latrines Urinal Blocks Urinal Blocks
Total
toilets Improved Basic Improved Basic
Girls 3228 5051 1707 356 162 10504
Boys 2404 4465 1512 679 258 9318
Female Staff 595 927 330 62 38 1952
Male Staff 657 981 376 96 56 2166
The results reveal that overall, there are more improved pit latrines relative to the other sanitary
infrastructure types with urinals reported the least. The figure above shows that Pit latrines
represent 48 percent of the sanitary facilities, followed by flush toilets that are representing 29
percent of the sanitary facilities. While urinal blocks have the least number representing 2
percent of the sanitary facilities.
The Annual School Census collected availability of handwashing facilities at the school. Apart
from hygiene, these have become an important element in the prevention of the cholera
pandemic. It is recommended for schools to have handwashing along with other hygiene
materials such as soap. During the Annual School Census, schools were asked to mention
91
numbers of washing facilities for girls, boys, male and female staff. The schools were further
asked to mention the numbers of handwashing facility with water only for the same. The results
are shown in the table below.
Figure 88: Hand washing Facilities
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Girls Boys Female Staff Male Staff
Handwashing facility 2275 1823 650 680
Handwashing facility with water only 1226 1242 436 421
Handwashing facility Handwashing facility with water only
The figure shows that there is a total of 5428 hand washing facilities, with the highest number
of hand washing facilities for girls amounting to 2275 and the least amount of hand washing
facilities were for the female staff with a total of 650. While, hand washing facilities with water
only were amounting to 3325, with the highest number of hand washing facilities for boys with
a total of 1242.
2.9 Change Rooms and Incinerators

Studies have shown that girls’ education cannot be improved if sanitation and sexual and
reproductive health basic infrastructure is not included as part of basic requirement for girl’s
attendance in school. The National Girls Education Strategy highlights that unavailability of
change rooms and incinerators in secondary schools is among the challenges affecting girl’s
education. The 2023 Annual School Census therefore collected data on the availability of
change rooms and incinerators in secondary schools disaggregated by school type. The results
are shown in the table below by district
92
Table 43: Girls and female staff change rooms and incinerators
Number of Changerooms Number of Incinerator

Improve Under Basi Under Improve Under Basi Under
d Constructio c constructio d constructio c constructio
n n n n
District
Chitipa 33 0 40 10 2 0 3 0
Karonga 12 3 26 3 7 0 5 0
Rumphi 41 2 17 3 1 0 0 0
Mzimba North 47 16 25 1 8 1 4 2
Mzimba South 51 0 19 0 5 0 3 0
Mzuzu City 41 10 34 3 15 0 8 0
Nkhata Bay 62 12 18 0 3 0 2 0
Likoma 7 0 3 0 1 0 0 0
Kasungu 34 1 25 7 15 0 11 0
Nkhotakota 4 5 10 1 5 0 3 0
Dowa 32 3 53 0 5 1 3 1
Ntchisi 14 1 6 0 0 0 1 0
Salima 19 0 11 0 3 0 0 0
Mchinji 25 0 14 1 2 2 2 0
Lilongwe City 106 7 39 2 15 0 7 0
Lilongwe Rural East 39 9 11 1 14 0 2 0
Lilongwe Rural West 21 0 13 0 2 1 7 0
Dedza 49 0 23 6 4 0 2 0
Ntcheu 45 1 27 4 6 2 5 13
Mangochi 53 1 13 0 3 1 3 2
Balaka 12 2 21 3 6 0 10 0
Machinga 31 2 14 2 4 0 7 1
Zomba Urban 11 0 4 0 5 0 0 0
Zomba Rural 21 2 17 0 0 0 0 0
Blantyre City 64 4 32 0 8 0 8 0
Blantyre Rural 25 4 20 6 5 0 8 3
Mwanza 19 2 14 0 0 0 0 0
Chikwawa 16 2 9 1 9 0 3 0
Nsanje 15 3 5 1 3 1 2 0
Chiradzulu 12 0 9 1 2 0 3 0
Thyolo 32 5 18 4 1 1 1 0
Mulanje 36 1 8 2 7 0 4 0
Phalombe 21 0 18 0 3 0 1 0
Neno 8 0 3 1 2 0 1 0
Total 1058 98 619 63 171 10 119 22
2.10 Secondary School Teaching and Learning Materials

Books play a quintessential role in every student's life by introducing them to a world of
imagination, providing knowledge of the outside world, improving their reading, writing
and speaking skills as well as boosting memory. The table below shows the availability
93
of books by form and subject.
Table 44: Textbooks by subject and form
Results show that form 1 has the highest number of text books followed by form 2. Form
3 has the least number of books. In terms of subject, there are more mathematics text
books relative to the other subjects and clothing and textile has the least number of books
as few schools offer this particular subject in the country.
2.11 Secondary School Teachers

The performance of students in secondary schools is affected by many factors.
Numerous studies conducted (e.g. Blömeke et al., 1998; Stronge et al., 2007) have shown
that the quality of a teachers' practice has a greater effect on a student's achievement and
effectiveness of classroom teaching compared to other factors such as class size,
composition and background. Furthermore, a well-trained teacher can cater to individual
94
needs. They can identify each child’s strengths and weaknesses and adapt their teaching
methods accordingly. This ensures that each child can learn at their own pace and reach
their full potential.
Table 45: Number of Teachers by Sex
Sex Percentage
District Female Male Total Female Male
Balaka 130 347 477 27.3 72.7
Blantyre City 520 772 1292 40.2 59.8
Blantyre Rural 237 454 691 34.3 65.7
Chikwawa 86 386 472 18.2 81.8
Chiradzulu 131 412 543 24.1 75.9
Chitipa 52 267 319 16.3 83.7
Dedza 145 498 643 22.6 77.4
Dowa 185 605 790 23.4 76.6
Karonga 93 355 448 20.8 79.2
Kasungu 179 610 789 22.7 77.3
Likoma 7 37 44 15.9 84.1
Lilongwe City 718 774 1492 48.1 51.9
Lilongwe Rural East 149 411 560 26.6 73.4
Machinga 106 395 501 21.2 78.8
Mangochi 155 549 704 22 78
Mchinji 100 283 383 26.1 73.9
Mulanje 158 648 806 19.6 80.4
Mwanza 37 164 201 18.4 81.6
Mzimba North 130 416 546 23.8 76.2
Mzimba South 102 429 531 19.2 80.8
Mzuzu City 214 300 514 41.6 58.4
Neno 43 140 183 23.5 76.5
Nkhata Bay 73 321 394 18.5 81.5
Nkhotakota 92 308 400 23 77
Nsanje 56 329 385 14.5 85.5
Ntcheu 126 589 715 17.6 82.4
Ntchisi 62 239 301 20.6 79.4
Phalombe 68 327 395 17.2 82.8
Rumphi 63 263 326 19.3 80.7
Salima 111 292 403 27.5 72.5
Thyolo 156 545 701 22.3 77.7
Zomba Rural 135 465 600 22.5 77.5
Zomba Urban 190 277 467 40.7 59.3
Grand Total 5071 13740 18811 27 73
The Annual School Census 2023 captured different teacher attributes that could have a
likely influence on their ability to deliver as well as affect student performance. These
attributes can further provide an insight into the learning happening in our secondary
schools.
95
The 2023 census registered a total of 18811 across the country. This represents a 14
percent increase from the number of teachers reported in the 2022 school census. We
first look at how these teachers are distributed by sex. The figure below displays these
results
Figure 89: Teacher Distribution by sex
27%
73%
Female Male
The results indicate that from the secondary school teachers registered in 2023, 73
percent were Males while females contribute to 27 percent of the secondary school
teachers.
The gender disparity among secondary school teachers gives an insight to the gender
disparity in pupil enrolment. It is speculated that higher rates of female teachers can lead
to increases in female student enrolment. It is commonly believed that female teachers
who are deployed in rural school’s act as role models to girls in these schools.
The census further collected information on the number of teachers by proprietorship.

This is whether they belong to public, private or public/private partnership secondary
schools. The figure below shows the distribution of teachers by proprietorship
Figure 90: Teacher Distribution by Proprietorship
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
Public/Private
Partnership
Teachers 4312 14383 116 18811
96
The results shows that the highest number of teachers was recorder in public secondary schools at
14383. This was followed by private schools which reported 4312 secondary school teachers.
Public/private partnership reported a total of 116 secondary school teachers. The table below shows the
distribution of teachers by district and proprietorship
Table 46: Distribution of Teachers by District by Proprietorship
Public/Private
District Private Public Partnership Total
Balaka 96 381 477
Chikwawa 108 364 472
Chitipa 71 248 319
Dedza 169 474 643
Dowa 175 594 21 790
Karonga 78 370 448
Kasungu 87 702 789
Likoma 13 31 44
Machinga 59 442 501
Mchinji 46 323 14 383
Mulanje 139 667 806
Mwanza 97 104 201
Mzuzu City 194 320 514
Neno 57 126 183
Nsanje 46 339 385
Ntcheu 174 541 715
Ntchisi 29 272 301
Phalombe 53 342 395
Rumphi 71 255 326
Salima 64 339 403
Thyolo 139 562 701
Grand Total 4312 14383 116 18811
97
The results show that Lilongwe city had the highest number of teachers at 1492. This was followed by
Blantyre city which recorded a total 1292 teachers. As expected Likoma reported the least number of
teachers at 44 since it’s the district with the least number of secondary schools as well.
2.11.6 Teachers by Location

The 2023 annual school census further collected information on how teachers are distributed in
secondary schools by the school’s location. This is either in urban, rural or semi urban secondary
schools. The figure below shows the results
Figure 91: Distribution of Teachers by Location
20000
18000
16000
14000
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
Rural Semi Urban Urban Total
Teachers 13877 1169 3765 18811
The results show that the majority of teachers were in rural secondary schools. These constituted 74
percent of the teachers. 20 percent of the teachers were in urban secondary schools whilst semi urban
secondary school 6 percent of the total secondary teacher population. The table below shows the teacher
location results by district
Table 47: Distribution of Teachers by District by Location
District Rural Semi Urban Urban Total

Balaka 460 17 477
Blantyre City 1292 1292
Chikwawa 472 472
Chitipa 319 319
Dedza 509 134 643
Dowa 721 69 790
Karonga 311 137 448
Kasungu 641 148 789
98
Likoma 44 44
Lilongwe City 1492 1492
Lilongwe Rural East 560 560
Lilongwe Rural West 795 795
Machinga 400 101 501
Mchinji 372 11 383
Mulanje 806 806
Mwanza 152 49 201
Mzimba North 546 546
Mzimba South 531 531
Mzuzu City 514 514
Neno 183 183
Nkhotakota 400 400
Nsanje 385 385
Ntcheu 699 16 715
Ntchisi 301 301
Phalombe 395 395
Rumphi 326 326
Salima 326 77 403
Thyolo 547 154 701
Zomba Rural 600 600
Zomba Urban 467 467
Grand Total 13877 1169 3765 18811
2.11.7 Teacher Qualification

A qualified teacher has the knowledge and expertise to teach their students effectively. They
know how to engage their students in learning and ensure they understand the material being
taught. The census further collected data on the teacher’s highest level of education, this is
whether they attained Malawi School Certification of Education (MSCE), Diploma in
Education, Non-Education Diploma, Degree in Education, Non-Education Degree, Masters in
Education, on-Education Master’s Degree. This was used to determine the number of trained
and untrained teachers in the secondary school system. Teachers that have attained diploma in
education, degree in education, master’s in education and those with university certificate in
education (UCE) cumulatively make up the trained(qualified) teacher category whilst the rest
fall in the untrained category. The figure below shows percentage of teachers by school
proprietor.
99
Figure 92: Trained and untrained teachers
Un trained
20%
Trained
80%
The results indicate 80 percent of the teachers were trained. This is a 15 percent increase from
the previous year where trained teachers were 65 percent of the total number of teachers. The
2023 results thus mean the number of untrained teachers in secondary schools has decreases to
20 percent from 35 percent in the previous school census.
It is highly thought that teacher training has a bearing on quality of delivery in the classroom.
Highly qualified teachers are well organized. They ensure that their lessons are planned and
structured in a way that is easy for their students to follow. They also keep their classroom tidy
and organized, making it a more pleasant place to learn. The figure below shows highest level
of teacher education by sex.
Figure 93: Teachers highest level of education qualification
9000
8000
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
NON NON NON UNIVERSITY
DEGREE IN DIP IN MASTERS IN
EDUCATION EDUCATION EDUCATION CERT IN MSCE
EDUCATION EDUCATION EDUCATION
DEGREE DIP MASTERS EDUCATION
Teachers 8360 5431 172 850 682 44 1019 2253
100
The results above show that the majority of teachers (8360) attained a degree in Education
followed by those that did diploma in education at 5431. Teachers that hold a non-education
master’s degree were reported the least at 44.
Table 48: Teacher Qualification by District
2.11.8 Secondary School Teachers Subject Majored/Qualified to Teach

A well-qualified teacher is an essential part of the education system. Though we live in a time
where technology has taken over most aspects of our lives, some things will never be replaced
by it; one such thing being face-to-face interactions with humans. Well qualified teachers are
101
able to offer a variety of different techniques and methods for students to learn. This may
include hands-on teaching, allowing the student to interact with what they are learning, or
having them explain it back in their own words. The 2023 annual school census defined
Qualified teachers as those that have either a diploma in education, degree in education,
master’s in education and university certificate in education. While undergoing training,
teachers major in different subjects which they are eventually qualified to teach. The 2022
annual school census collected information teachers subject majored/qualified to teach and
below are the results
Table 49: Teachers major subject to teach by sex
Subject Teachers
qualified to
teach
ADDITIONAL MATHS 17
AGRICULTURE 819
BIBLE KNOWLEDGE 961
BIOLOGY 1576
BOOK KEEPING 8
BUSINESS STUDIES 80
CHEMISTRY 404
CHICHEWA 1369
CHLOTHING AND TEXTILE 6
COMPUTER SCIENCE 222
CRAFT DESIGN 7
CREATIVE ARTS 4
ENGLISH 2344
FRENCH 87
GEOGRAPHY 1548
HISTORY 1138
HOME ECONOMICS 261
LATIN 11
LIFE SKILLS 247
MATHEMATICS 1813
METALWORK 19
MUSIC 7
NONE 3896
PERFORMING ARTS 14
PHYSICAL EDUCATION 94
PHYSICAL SCIENCE 178
PHYSICS 555
PRINCIPLES OF ACCOUNTING 15
SOCIAL STUDIES 1006
TECHNICAL DRAWING 56
102
WOODWORK 49
Grand Total 18811
The results above show that the majority of teachers do not have a major subject to teach
rating it at 21 percent. The results further show 12 percent of the teachers are qualified
to teach English. The results further show that 10 percent of the teachers were qualified
to teach mathematics. Teachers qualified to teach biology accounted for 8 percent of the
total teachers. Meanwhile, the least subject that teachers qualify to teach is creative arts
is at 0.02 percent.
2.11.9 Secondary School Teacher Grades
The 2023 annual school census collected number of teachers by grade. The figure below shows
the results.
Figure 94: Teachers by Sex And Grade
4000
3500
Number of Teachers
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Private
P5 (F) P7 (G) P8 (H) PO (I) POE (J) School PT1 (I) PT2 (J) PT3 (K) PT4 (L)
Teacher
Female 64 99 600 1890 605 689 54 81 249 740
Male 182 261 1255 3804 1459 3335 237 332 875 2000
The results in the figure above shows that in the 2023 census, the majority of teachers fall under
grade PO(I) at 30 percent. Private school teachers make up 21 percent of the total number of
teachers. Grade P5(F) had the least number of teachers making up 1.3 percent of the total
number of teachers. The results further indicate that there are more male teachers relative to
females across all the teacher grades.
2.11.10Secondary School Teachers who have left the school
Every year there are teachers leaving a school and there are several reasons attributed to this
and among them are death, dismissal, prolonged illness, retiring, being transferred to another
school and being transferred to a non-teaching post. The 2023 annual school census collected
information on reasons why teachers left a particular school. The figure below shows the results
103
Figure 95: Teachers’ Reasons for Leaving School
133
TRANSFERRED TO NON-TEACHING POST
64
1013
TRANSFERRED TO ANOTHER SCHOOL
341
185
RETIRED
50
9
PROLONGED ILLNESS
2
99
DISMISSED
16
39
DEATH
9
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
MALE FEMALE
The figure above shows that there were 1013 male teachers that transferred to another school
and 341 female teachers that transferred to another school. Furthermore, 133 male teachers were
transferred to a non-teaching post and 64 females that were transferred to non-teaching post.
The least number of teachers that left the school was because of prolonged illness with 9 male
teachers and 2 female teachers. The 2023 ASC collected the distribution of teachers by their
location. This is either Urban, Rural or Semi Urban. The results are displayed in the table below.
2.11.11Number Periods Per Week

Teacher student contact period is believed to have a significant effect on school outcomes. This has a
bearing on how much time the teacher spends in delivering the school curriculum to the students. The
2022 annual school census collected information on the number of teacher periods per week by subject
and form. The results are as shown in the table below
Table 50: Number of Periods Per Week by Subject and Form
Subject Form 1 Form 2 Form 3 Form 4 Form 5 Form 6

Bible Knowledge 16346 15102 11930 12372 24 49
Computer studies 10381 9384 7099 6992 10 12
Business Studies 4103 4132 3364 3714 4 5
Physical Education 4516 4208 2480 2412 0 45
Social Studies 20148 19724 20275 20621 25 26
Creative Arts 363 391 410 414 0 0
Technical Drawing 1260 1056 1043 981 0 80
Chichewa 62993 58548 49862 50756 247 2048
Mathematics 110014 110824 94030 97298 20 5
104
English 91928 88050 86886 94933 23 11
Home Economics 4301 4010 3492 3681 4 13
Biology 81874 80219 74139 74893 28 33
Physical Science 9632 9654 8225 8883 44 50
Agriculture 40635 38118 28410 29399 25 12
Life Skills 20503 22076 19184 19720 23 11
French 2641 2639 2090 1756 0 0
Additional Mathematics 274 260 441 564 0 4
Wood work 604 431 533 599 0 0
Metal Work 480 485 545 583 0 3
Geography 33957 32582 26499 27678 36 11
History 21152 21891 19357 20243 23 5
Religious Education 1324 1394 1030 1090 1 4
Physics 81703 77770 69975 74476 78 67
Chemistry 75658 73952 68123 73056 76 57
Clothing and Textiles 519 302 385 341 0 0
Performing Arts 51 45 42 98 0 0
Other Books 30607 14910 19378 22117 0 0
Total 727967 692157 619227 649670 691 2551
The results indicate that in terms of subject mathematics had the greatest number of periods
per week relative to the rest of the subjects
2.11.12 Secondary School Teacher Additional Responsibility

Besides teaching, teachers are sometimes being given an additional responsibility to handle at
the school as an internal arrangement. It can be speculated that certain times such additional
responsibilities may affect the teacher’s availability for their core duty of teaching. At most, it
can also affect pupil performance in the long run. The 2023 Annual School Census collected
information on teacher additional responsibility. The results are as shown in the table below
Table 51: Teachers Additional Responsibility by Sex
BOARD
MASTER DEPUTY
/ HEAD HEA HEAD SPORTS
Divisio MATRO TEACHE D OF TEACHE MATRO PATRO ORGANIZE OTHE NON
n N R DEPT R N N R R E
CEED 102 203 473 189 53 178 274 322 889
CWED 100 319 710 309 122 253 374 616 1785
NED 121 295 645 282 43 97 344 388 907
SEED 58 179 451 204 143 207 218 346 943
SHED 135 634 1468 638 255 434 756 1401 3171
105
Total 516 1630 3747 1622 616 1169 1966 3073 7695
The results indicate that 3747 secondary school teachers were holding a head of department
responsibility. 1966 teachers were sports organizers as an additional responsibility. 7695
teachers reported to hold no extra responsibility apart from teaching. 3073 teachers reported
to have additional responsibilities aside from those pre-listed in the 2023 annual school census
data collection tool. Boarding master or patron was reported the least additional responsibilities
where 516 teachers reported to hold this responsibility.
2.12 Summary of Secondary School Indicators

2.12.6 Access Indicators in Secondary education
2.12.1.1. Gross Enrolment Rate (GER)
This is defined as Total enrolment in a specific level of education, regardless of age, expressed
as a percentage of the eligible official school-age population corresponding to the same level
of education in a given school year. The general interpretation for this indicator is to show the
general level of participation in a given level of education in this case secondary. It indicates
the capacity of the education system to enroll students of a particular age group. It can also be
a complementary indicator to net enrolment rate (NER) by indicating the extent of over-aged
and under-aged enrolment. It shows a general level of participation in secondary education. It
is commonly known as a crude measure of access to school. A high GER generally indicates a
high degree of participation whether the pupils belong to the official age group or not. A GER
value approaching or exceeding 100% indicates that a country is, in principle, able to
accommodate all of its school-age population, but it does not indicate the proportion already
enrolled. The achievement of a GER of 100% is therefore a necessary but not sufficient
condition for enrolling all eligible children in school. When the GER exceeds 90% for a
particular level of education, the aggregate number of places for pupils is approaching the
number required for universal access to secondary education of the official secondary school
going population age group. However, this is a meaningful interpretation only if one can expect
the under-aged and over-aged enrolments to decline in the future to free places for pupils from
the expected age group. The figure below shows the trend in GER in the past 5 years
106
Figure 96: Trend in gross enrolment rate
30
25
Secondary GER
20
15
10
5
0
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Male 25.6 24.8 25.4 22.9 25.4 27.1
Female 24.1 22.7 22.5 21.2 23.1 25.2
Total 24.9 23.8 24 22.1 24.3 26.1
The figure above shows low access to secondary education across the years from 2019
to 2023 with females having a marginally lower access to secondary education relative
to their male counterparts. The results further show that the largest increase in total GER
has been registered in 2023 at 26.13 from 24.3 in 2022.
2.12.1.2. Net Enrolment Rate (NER)
NER is the Enrolment of the official age group for a given level of education expressed
as a percentage of the corresponding population. NER is the best way of measuring
organized on-time school participation. It is a more refined indicator of school and
enrolment coverage and explains the proportion of students enrolled in terms of official
age group. NER is calculated by dividing the number of properly age secondary students
(14 -17 years of age) by the number of official population secondary school age. The
official age for students in secondary school is between 14 and 17 years. The figure
below shows the NER over a period of 5 years.
A high NER denotes a high degree of coverage for the official school-age population
where the theoretical maximum value is 100%. Increasing trends can be considered as
reflecting improving coverage at the specified level of education. When the NER is
compared with the GER, the difference between the two highlights the incidence of
under-aged and over-aged enrolment.
107
Figure 97: Trend in Net Enrolment Rates for Secondary Schools
17.5
17
16.5
16
15.5
15
14.5
14
13.5
13
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Male 15.7 15.7 14.6 16.4 16.9
Female 15.6 15.4 14.5 16.8 17.1
Total 15.6 15.5 14.6 16.6 17
The NER for secondary sub-sector has remained below 20 percent over the last five years. In
2023, the national net enrolment rate stands at 17 percent, a slight increase from the 16.6 in the
previous academic. The results further reveal marginal differences as regards to access to
secondary education across gender with females having a slightly higher NER relative to their
male counterparts. From the figure above, it can be inversely concluded that close to 83 percent
of the official secondary school going age population have no access to secondary education.
2.12.7 Quality Indicators in Secondary Education

Quality indicators in secondary school include Students Teacher Ratio (STR) and Student
Classroom Ratio (SCR). The census captured both trained and untrained teachers in secondary
schools to calculate the Pupil qualified Teacher Ratio (PqTR). The census also captured
number of permanent classes and temporary but used classes to come up with Pupil Permanent
Classroom Ratio (PCR).
These indicators provide a picture on learning/teaching environment as they are pivotal in
achieving
equitable access of secondary education. These indicators may show how overcrowded classes
in the system are and the student teacher contact time. For both indicators, a lower value
indicates reduced levels of overcrowding or reduced competition for classroom resources.
108
2.12.2.1. Pupil Classroom Ratio (PCR).
It is calculated by dividing the number of students by the number of permanent classroom.
Table 52: Student Classroom ratio by form

Total Enrolmen PpC PC
Form Permanent classrooms Temporarily classrooms Classrooms t R R
Form 1 1888 145 2033 129432 69 64

Form 2 1895 114 2009 132044 70 66
Form 3 1831 81 1912 108187 59 57
Form 4 1874 80 1954 115987 62 59
Total 7488 420 7908 485650 65 61
The results show that form 2 had the highest PpCR of 70 relative to the other forms. Form 3
reported the lowest PCR at 57 relative to the rest of the classes.
Figure 98: Trend in Pupil Classroom Ratio
64
63
62
61
60
59
58
57
56
55
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
PCR 62.5 63 58 60 61
The figure above shows the pupil classroom ratio has been decreasing from 62.5 in 2019 to
61.0 in 2022. Though the figures show a decrease, the secondary subsector needs to construct
more of classes to achieve the standard PCR of 40:1.
109
2.12.2.2. Secondary Pupil Qualified Teacher Ratio
This is defined as the average number of pupils per qualified teacher in secondary school in a
given academic year. A qualified teacher is one who has at least the minimum academic
qualifications required for teaching their subjects at the relevant level in a given country in a
given academic year. For Malawi, qualified secondary schools are those with a degree in
education, diploma in education, master’s in education and a university Certificate in Education
(UCE). The Figure below the trend of Pupil qualified Teacher Ratio in secondary schools
Figure 99: Pupil qualified Teacher Ratio
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
PTR 47.5 42.6 37.5 32.3 32.3
The trends shown in the figure above shows that the Pupil qualified Teacher Ratio has been
declining from 2019 at 42.6 to 32.3 in 2022 and 2023 respectively. However, the down trend
does not show the variability across subjects. The table below shows the deficiencies existing
across various subjects
Table 53: Secondary Pupil-Qualified Teacher Ratio by Subject
Subject Teachers majored Number of students per subject PqTR
English 2344 486962 208
Mathematics 1813 487246 269
Chichewa 1369 481424 352

Agriculture 819 477498 583
110
Biology 1576 480800 305
Geography 1548 423729 274
History 1138 354643 312
Bible Knowledge 961 195103 203
Computer Studies 222 45143 203
Social Studies 1006 376397 374
Life Skills 247 362379 1467
Home Economics 261 20099 77
Physics 555 400438 722
Chemistry 404 398931 987
The table above shows huge gaps in all core subjects irrespective of route a student’s (science
and humanities) may take. Life skills has the highest PqTR at 1467 students per qualified
teacher while home economics has the lowest PqTR of 77 students per qualified teacher
2.12.2.3. Student Toilets Ratio
The 2023 census collected the number of sanitary facilities in secondary schools in Malawi.
The information collected includes number of flush toilets, number of pit latrines drop holes,
number of urinal blocks and number of hand washing facilities. The student toilet ratio was
calculated and the results are as shown in the figure below.
Figure 100: Student toilet ratio by sex
30
25
20
15
10
0
Girls Boys Total
2021 18 15 16
2022 24.6 27 25.7
2023 18.2 15.9 17.0
2021 2022 2023
111
The results indicate a total student toilet ratio of 17 and this is a decrease of 8.7 relative to the
previous academic year. Across gender, boys have a higher toilet ratio of 27 relative to girls at
24.6.
2.12.2.4. Student Text Book Ratio
Number of textbooks available in secondary schools contributes to quality performance of

learners. The annual school census collected the number of books in good condition and used
the information to calculate the Pupil Textbook Ratio for the secondary sub-sector in the
following subjects.
Table 54: Secondary Text- book Ratio by subject
Pupil-
Textbook
Subject Number of books Number of students per subject ratio
English 361797 486962 1
Mathematics 412191 487246 1
Chichewa 224454 481424 2
Agriculture 136599 477498 3
Biology 311186 480800 2
Geography 120763 423729 4
History 82671 354643 4
Bible Knowledge 55823 195103 3
Computer Studies 33878 45143 1
Social Studies 80819 376397 5
Life Skills 81517 362379 4
Home Economics 15501 20099 1
Physics 304069 400438 1
Chemistry 209922 398931 2
Social studies had the highest student textbook ratio where 5 students were sharing 1 book.
Life skills, Geography and history had 4 students sharing 1 book. A 1 to 1 student textbook
ratio is observed in physics, economics, mathematics, English and computer studies.
2.12.8 Efficiency Indicators
These rates help understand how the education system utilizes efficiently the limited resources
and time. These rates are often used to measure the efficiency of the education system in
112
producing graduates of a particular education cycle or level. A learner in a particular school
calendar can either be promoted to the next grade, repeat or dropout from a grade or complete
a grade.
2.12.3.1. Repetition Rate
This indicator measures the proportion of students who have remained in the same grade for
two or more consecutive years by retaking the grade by either returning for a second or third
time or more. The purpose of this indicator is to measure the rate at which pupils from a cohort
repeat a grade and its effect on the internal efficiency of educational systems. In addition, it is
one of the key indicators for analyzing and projecting pupil flows from grade to grade within
the educational cycle. Repetition Rate ideally should approach zero percent. High repetition
rate reveals problems in the internal efficiency of the educational system and possibly reflect
a poor levels of instruction. When compared across grades, the patterns can indicate specific
grades for which there is higher repetition hence requiring more in-depth study of causes and
possible remedies.
Figure 101: Repetition rate by form and by gender
6.00
5.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
Male 0.46 2.18 3.40 5.18 2.72
Female 0.57 2.86 3.88 5.46 3.05
Total 0.52 2.52 3.63 5.31 2.88
The figure above shows that Form 4 had the highest rate of repetition as compared to other
forms. Repetition is higher among female relative to the male students across all forms. On
average, 2.88 percent of secondary school students were repeating their class in 2023.
113
2.12.3.2. Dropout Rate
This is the proportion of pupils from a cohort enrolled in a given grade at a given school year
who are no longer enrolled in the following school year. The purpose of this indicator is to
measure the phenomenon of pupils from a cohort leaving school before completion, and its
effect on the internal efficiency of educational systems. In addition, it is one of the key
indicators for analyzing and projecting pupil flows from grade to grade within the educational
cycle. The table below shows the dropout rate by gender and form for the 2023 academic year.
Figure 102: Dropout rate by form and by gender
7.00
6.00
5.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
Male 4.65 4.19 4.21 3.14 4.06
Female 6.02 6.65 6.61 4.60 5.99
Total 5.33 5.41 5.37 3.84 5.00
The figure above shows that the overall secondary school dropout rate for 2023 is at 5 percent.
This is a drop from a dropout of 5.9 percent recorded in the previous year. The results further
show that more students in form 2 left school prematurely compared to the other forms. The
figure further reveals that more females dropped out relative to their male counterparts across
all forms. This has further translated to an overall high dropout rate for female students relative
to their male counterparts.
2.12.3.3. Secondary completion rates
Completion rate is an established measure of the outcomes of an education system. It is

calculated by dividing the total number of new entrants in the last grade of secondary school
by the population of official age in the last grade. A high ratio indicates a high degree of current
secondary education outputs.
114
Table 55: Secondary completion rates
Population aged 17 New Entrants in Form 4 Completion

rates
Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total
216305 23186 448174 51986 47838 99824 24.0 20.6 22.3
The result indicates that out of 100 students aged 17 years (the age supposed to be in form 4
from the population) in the population, only 22.3 percent of them completed secondary
education in 2023.However, this is an improvement from the previous year where only 19.4
percent of students aged 17 years were in form 4 .The results further indicate a higher
completion rate for males relative to female students.
Figure 103: Trend of completion rates 2019- 2023
30
25
20
15
10
0
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Male 21 24 22 21.1 24
Female 17 20 18 17.9 20.6
Total 19 21 20 19.4 22.3
The figure shows that overall, the completion rates have remained fairly low between 2019 and
2023. However there is an improvement from 19 percent in 2019 to 22.3 in 2023.
2.12.9 Equity Indicator
2.12.4.1 Gender Parity Index (GPI) for secondary School
In relation to access measures, GPI is an important indicator of balanced programs to boost

enrolment and participation in education across gender. The GPI is the ratio of female to male
students for all levels. A GPI equal to 1 indicates parity between females and males. In general,
a value less than 1 indicates disparity in favor of boys/men and a value greater than 1 indicates
disparity in favor of girls/women. The table below shows GPI for 2023 by form.
115
Figure 104: Gender Parity Index by form
1.02
1.00
0.98
0.96
0.94
0.92
0.90
0.88
0.86
GPI 1.01 1.01 0.95 0.92 0.97
The results show that in the 2023 school year, gender parity index shows there were slightly
more females in forms one and two. Forms 3 and 4 as well as the overall GPI shows a slightly
lower GPI. Thus overall, there were slightly more males enrolled in secondary schools relative
to the females.
The next figure shows the trend in the GPI in the past 5 years
Figure 105: Trend of Gender Parity Index, 2019-2023
0.975
0.97
0.965
0.96
0.955
0.95
0.945
0.94
0.935
0.93
0.925
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
GPI 0.97 0.94 0.96 0.96 0.97
The results show no change between 2019 and 2023. However, the trend shows there was a
drop between 2020 and 2022 in the GPI. Over the years, the index still stands at less than 1
meaning that the sector has not fully achieved the equity issue of having the number of girls
equal to the number of boys accessing secondary education.
116
3 TERTIARY EDUCATION
3.1 Higher Education
3.1.6 Enrolment in Universities
Higher education is one of the key subsectors which contributes to economic development of
the country and as such, government has recently initiated policies to improve access to higher
learning institution. A number of universities have been established while some some existing
ones are being expanded.. The 2023 Annual School Census collected data on the enrolment in
universities.
Figure 106: Number of undergraduates by proprietorship
45000 40938
40000
33262
35000
30000 24770
25000
20000 16592 16670 16168
15000
10000
5000
0
Male Female Total
Private Public
The previous academic year had a total enrolment of 56624 students in universities whilst in
2022/23 t academic year, there has been an increase in enrolment in universities. In 2023, the
total number of undergraduates is 74200 students of which 40938 were from public universities
and 33262 were from private universities
Figure 107: Trend in Undergraduates
50000
40938
37132 38111
40000 33262
30000
21660
20000
7935
10000
0
2020/2021 2021/2022 2022/2023
Public Private
117
Figure 108: Number of Postgraduate students
5000 4260
4000
2830
3000 2534
1729
2000 1430
805
1000
0
Male Female Total
Private Public
In the previous academic year, the number of postgraduates students was 5618 and the figure
has increased to 6794 in 2023. The figure above shows that there are 4260 students in public
universities and there are 2534 students in private universities
Figure 109: Number of students enrolled in ODeL programs by Proprietor
4000
3500 3361
3000
2500
2000 1800 1738

1409
1500
1000
500
0
Male Female
Private Public
The figure above shows that in 2023, the total number of ODeL students was 8308 out of which
4770 were from public and 3538 were from private universities representing 59% and 41%
respectively.
118
Figure 110: Number of Students in colleges
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
HOLY
FAMILY
St john of
Ekwendeni COLLEGE Malamulo ST LUKES Trinity
Mulanje Nkhoma God St johns
College of OF college of COLLEGE College of
Mission College of College of Institute
Health NURSING health OF HEALTH Health
Nursing Nursing Health for health
Science & sciences SCIENCES Sciences
Sciences
MIDWIFER
Y
Male 930 67 739 177 210 66 224 44 224
Female 1640 90 696 312 385 41 366 61 251
Male Female
The figure above shows that Ekwendeni College of Health Science has the highest enrolment
representing 2570 students followed by Malamulo College of Health Sciences which has a total
of 1435 students. The least number of students were registered at St Lukes college of health
science with the total of 105 students.
3.1.7 Staff in Universities
Figure 111: Distribution of Academic Staff by sex by university proprietorship
411
Public
1052
548
Private
1113
13
Mission
8
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
Female Male
Most lecturers recorded were Male.
119
Figure 112: Distribution of Academic Staff by sex by level of education
1200
1062
1000
800
625
600 548
450
400
192 220
200
32 13
0
Diploma Bachelors Masters PHD
Male Female
Out of the total 3142 number of lecturers recorded in the 2023 Annual School Census, 51% hold
Master’s Degrees, 27% hold PHDs while the remaining 22% hold Bachelor’s Degrees and Diplomas.
120
Figure 113: Percentage of academic staff that hold PHDs
UNICAF 67.22
University of Malawi 50.19
LUANAR 48.64
Central Christian University 31.58
Mzuzu University 31.25
African Bible College 28.95
Kamuzu University of Health Sciences 23.15
Malawi University of Science and Technology 22.47
Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences 20.34
UNIVERSITY OF LILONGWE 19.61
Malawi School of Government (MIM BT) 15.38
University of Livingstonia 13.33
DMI Lilongwe 12.50
Domasi College of Education 11.54
Catholic University of Malawi 11.11
University of Livingstonia 10.34
Nkhoma University 10.26
Emmanuel University 10.00
Skyway University 8.33
DMI Mangochi 7.50
DMI Blantyre 7.14
St john of God College of Health Sciences 6.67
Daeyang University 6.67
Malawi Assemblies of God University (Blantyre 6.06
Malawi Assemblies of God 6.06
Nkhoma College of Nursing 5.26
Exploits University 3.45
Malawi Adventist University 3.39
Malamulo college of health sciences 3.39
NALIKULE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION 2.70
Lake Malawi Anglican University 2.70
TEEM Development Centre College 0.00
Trinity College of Health Sciences 0.00
ST LUKES COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES 0.00
ST JOSEPH'S COLLEGE 0.00
St johns Institute for health 0.00
ShareWORLD Open University 0.00
PACT College 0.00
National College of Information Technology 0.00
Mulanje Mission Nursing 0.00
Montfort Special Needs Education College 0.00
Malawi School of Government (Mpemba Campus) 0.00
Malawi Marine Training College 0.00
HOLY FAMILY COLLEGE OF NURSING & MIDWIFERY 0.00
Ekwendeni College of Health Science 0.00
Domasi Institute of Management and Technology 0.00
0.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00 70.00 80.00
121
3.2 Teacher Education
3.2.6 Teacher Training Colleges for Public Primary Schools
The government of Malawi focuses on training teachers in order to address quality issues and
to overcome supply side challenges in the education system. Teacher education has emerged
as an essential element in the improvement of education delivery. The 2023 Annual School
Census collected information from all the 18 Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) in the country.
Of the 18 TTCs, 9 are public while 9 are private. The public TTCs are; Blantyre, Lilongwe,
Dedza, Chiradzulu, Phalombe, Kasungu, Machinga and Karonga while the private TTCs are
DAPP Dowa, THEODARA van ROSSUM, ST Joseph's, Loudan,DAPP Chilangoma, Alma
private ,DAPP Mzimba and Maryam girls.
This section examines different aspects as regards teacher education in Malawi. This is in terms
of enrollment and staffing
3.2.1.1. Enrolment in TTCs
The ministry has in the past few years been increasing the conventional primary teacher trainee
intake for the IPTE programs. The ultimate goal has been to bring the primary school pupil
teacher ratio to the recommended 1:60. The Annual School Census collected information on
student teachers who were enrolled in TTCs in the year 2023. The figure that follows shows
TTC enrollment by proprietor and sex
Figure 114: TTCs enrolment by proprietor and sex
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
Male Female Total
Private 1081 1743 2824
Public 3371 3783 7154
Total 4452 5526 9978
The results indicate that in 2023, there was a total of 9978 student teachers enrolled in the
TTCs. The results further show that of these, 72 percent are in public TTCs while the other 28
percent is from private teacher colleges. In terms of sex, there were slightly more females
122
enrolled in TTCs at 55 percent relative to their male counterparts who made up 45 percent of
the 2023 enrollment. It should be noted that there are 2 female TTCs namely Maryam girls and
ST Joseph. The following figures show enrollment in the individual TTCs for public and
private TTCs, respectively
Figure 115: Public TTCs enrolment by sex
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Blantyre Chiradzulu Dedza Karonga Kasungu Lilongwe Machinga Phalombe
Male 273 737 0 260 387 873 594 247
Female 267 586 1151 263 220 468 517 311
Total 540 1323 1151 523 607 1341 1111 558
The results show that Lilongwe has the highest enrolment with the total of 1341 followed by
Chiradzulu with the total of 1323. Phalombe TTC registered the least enrolment among the
public TTCs with the total of 558. The following figure displays this information for private
TTCs
Figure 116: Private TTCs Enrollment by Sex
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Theodora
DAPP DAPP
DAPP TTC Maryam ST JOSEPH Van
ALMA TTC Chilangom Mzimba Loudan
Dowa Girls TTC TTC Rossum
a TTC TTC
TTC
Male 109 98 50 55 536 0 0 159
Female 232 157 115 98 474 366 1151 189
Total 341 255 165 153 1010 366 1151 348
123
The figure above shows that despite being an all-female TTC, St Josephs had the highest
enrollment among the private TTCs at 1151 student teachers. This was followed by Loudan
TTC with a total enrollment of 1010 student teachers. DAPP Dowa TTC registered the least
enrollment among the private TTCs, with 153 student teachers enrolled.
3.2.1.2. Public TTCs Teaching Staff
Over the past years, the number of teaching staff in the TTCs has increased steadily. Sufficient
teachers promote enough interface between learners and tutors which in turn results in
producing quality teachers. The 2023 Annual School Census collected data on the number of
staff in the TTCs.
The figure below shows the number of teaching staff by sex and proprietor
Figure 117: Number of Teaching Staff by Sex
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Male Female Total
Private 54 28 82
Public 212 137 349
Total 266 165 431
In the previous academic year, the total number of staff was 433 and in 2023, the number of
staff has decreased to 431.. The number of staff in public schools is representing 81 percent
while private schools are representing 19 of the total number of staff. The number of staff
shows that majority were male with a total of 62 percent and 38 percent of the staff was female.
The figure that follows shows teaching staff reported in individual public TTCs by sex.
124
Figure 118: Tutors by sex in Public TTCs
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Blantyre Chiradzulu Dedza Karonga Kasungu Lilongwe Machinga Phalombe
Male 27 37 22 25 26 30 27 18
Female 30 20 11 7 10 23 22 14
Total 57 57 33 32 36 53 49 32
The figure above shows that Blantyre TTCand Chiradzulu TTC had the highest number of
teachers with each having 57 teachers. These results are followed by Lilongwe TTC that has
53 teachers and Phalombe and Karonga had the least number of teachers in public TTCs with
a total 32 teachers.
Figure 119: Tutors by sex in Private TTCs
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Theodora
DAPP DAPP
DAPP TTC Maryam Van
ALMA TTC Chilangoma Mzimba Dream TTC Loudan
Dowa Girls TTC Rossum
TTC TTC
TTC
Male 6 5 8 4 3 13 9 4
Female 3 4 2 3 1 3 5 3
Total 9 9 10 7 4 16 14 7
The figure above shows the number of teachers in private schools and the results above show
that Loudan TTC had the highest number of teachers followed by Maryam girls TTC which
had 14 teachers. Further, the results show that Dream TTC had the least number of teachers
with a total of 4 teachers.
125
3.3 Technical schools
3.3.6 Enrolment in Technical schools
Figure 120: Enrolment in Technical Colleges by proprietorship by gender
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4
Grant aided 60 30 103 37 44 14 71 41
Mission 52 65 3 11 6 19 4 7
Private 952 609 329 182 262 107 0 0
Public 2995 1686 1392 972 981 422 376 224
The figure above illustrates that more students are enrolled in public technical colleges
compared to private technical colleges and mission technical colleges have the lowest
enrolment. Out of the total 12056 enrolment, 63% are males while 37% are females.
3.3.7 Staffing
Figure 121: Staff in Technical Colleges by proprietorship by gender
350
308
300
250
200
150
109
100
68
50 30 27
19 10
4
0
Grant aided Mission Private Public
Female Staff Male Staff
Public Technical colleges were seen to have more staff compared to the rest (417) 74% of
which were males. The trend of higher numbers of male staff was also seen for private schools,
mission schools and grant aided schools.
126
3.3.8 Special Needs Students
Figure 122: Special Needs Students in Technical Colleges by gender
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Male 87 17 9 4
Female 13 8 8 1
Year one of Technical college education was seen to have the highest number of special needs
students as depicted by the figure above.
Table 56: Enrolment in Technical colleges by Trade

Femal Mal Femal Mal Femal Mal Femal Mal
Trade e e e e e e e e Grand Total
Automobile 31 346 22 189 9 137 0 0 734
Bookkeeping & Accounting 12 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 35
Bricklaying 76 306 41 152 22 122 19 54 792
Carpentry & Joinery 79 382 28 136 16 123 10 55 829
Electrical Installation 139 463 54 248 60 230 3 12 1209
Fabrication & Welding 103 376 60 153 38 114 4 29 877
General fitting 20 153 7 45 8 51 0 0 284
Mechanical Trades 0 0 3 11 0 0 0 0 14
Plumbing 278 459 104 163 97 181 14 29 1325
Tailoring 593 105 281 61 155 22 79 26 1322
Cosmetology 22 2 6 0 7 0 0 0 37
Vehicle Body Repairing 3 35 0 0 2 21 0 0 61
127
4 EDUCATION EXPENDITURE
4.1 Introduction
The budget allocation to the education sector consists of allocations to the Ministry of
Education Headquarters and its agencies under Vote 250, Local Councils under Vote 900
series, and Education Subventions under Vote 275. The budget for Vote 250 has provisions for
salaries for all teachers in public secondary schools, lecturers and tutors in Teacher Training
Colleges (TTCs), and those providing support services in the Ministry; operations carried out
at Headquarters and its agencies, public secondary schools, education divisions, TTCs
including Domasi and Nalikule Colleges of Education. The budget for Vote 250 also has a
provision for government and donor funded development projects implemented at all levels of
education in the country namely primary, secondary, and higher education.
The devolved resources to Local Councils cater for salaries for all teachers in public primary
schools as well as operational costs for all public primary schools in the 34 education districts,
while for Education subventions caters for salaries, operation costs and infrastructure projects.
These education subventions include: Six public universities namely, University of Malawi
(UNIMA), Mzuzu University (MZUNI), Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural
Resources (LUANAR), Malawi University of Bussiness and Applied Sciences (MUBAS),
Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHES) and Malawi University of Science and
Technology (MUST); Malawi National Examination Board (MANEB); National Library
Services (NLS); Malawi Institute of Education (MIE); National Council for Higher Education
(NCHE); Higher Education Students Loans and Grants Board (HESLGB); and Malawi
University Development Programme.
The resources which are allocated to the education sector mainly fall into two major categories
namely, Recurrent Budget which comprises Personal Emoluments (PE), and Other Recurrent
Transaction (ORT); and Development Budget which comprises Part I development budget
which is donor financed, and Part II development budget which is financed by Malawi
Government.
In 2022/23 Financial Year (FY), overall budget for the education sector was MK462.2 billion
which was revised upwards to MK549.8 billion during Mid-Year Budget Review (MYBR) of
which MK458.7 billion was for recurrent expenditure and MK91.1 billion was for development
projects. During Mid-year Review, Development Budget Part I was revised upwards from MK
34.3 billion to MK70.18 billion while Part II was revised downwards from MK33.2 billion to
MK20.95 billion.
128
The Government of Malawi continues to highly value the role the education sector plays in the
country as demonstrated by an allocation of 4.2 percent of the country`s GDP to the education
sector in 2022/23 FY which is slightly lower than the allocation of 4.9 percent of the country’s
GDP allocated to the sector in 2021/22 FY. The average GDP of 4.5%, which the Government
spent on education between 2013/14 and 2022/23 FYs is equivalent to the average GDP of 4.5
percent which sub-Saharan Africa countries spend on education (World Bank1). Table 1 below
shows Budget allocations to education sector in proportion to the GDP.
Table 57: Trends on GDP Spent on Education in (Mk ''000,000,000'')
Source: Ministry Finance Books and IFMIS
4.2 Recurrent Budget Allocations

The trend analysis below shows that the percentage allocation of total government recurrent
expenditure towards education has been over 20% for the past 10 years since 2013/14 FY.
From 2012 onwards, there was an increase in government expenditure towards the education
sector due to donor-pooled resources through the Education Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp)
program. The Education SWAp arrangement mandated the Government of Malawi to allocate
a minimum of 20% of its discretionary recurrent budget towards the education sector. To fulfil
this obligation, Government has been allocating a minimum of 23% on average of its overall
recurrent allocation to the education sector between 2013/14 and 2022/23 FYs. In 2022/23 FY,
Government allocated 20% of its voted recurrent budget towards the education sector.
Table 58: Trends in Recurrent Allocation Total Government Recurrent Budget to

Education in (MK ''000,000,000'')
Source: Ministry of Finance; Financial Statements
129
However, huge resources allocated to the education sector under recurrent budget were meant
for payment of salaries for primary and secondary school teachers. Out of the revised recurrent
budget of MK462.24 billion allocated to the education sector, MK279.51 billion was for
payment of salaries for both primary and secondary school teachers representing 60% of the
total recurrent resources. Non-salary allocations include resources for the purchase of Teaching
and Learning Materials (TLMs) amounting to MK2.5 billion for both primary and secondary
schools; MK11.99 billion for the running of all secondary schools under the six education
divisions; and MK14.22 billion for running of all primary schools in the country.
4.2.6 Recurrent Allocation to Education Sector Programs for 2022/23 FY

Malawi Government changed its budgeting system from Output Based Budgeting to Program
Based Budgeting. As such, allocation of resources in the education sector budget is based on
programs. The education sector has four programs namely: Basic Education, Secondary
Education, Higher Education, and Management and Administration. Figure 1; below analyses
the total budget allocation by program in the education sector.
Figure 123: Education Sector Recurrent Percentage Allocation by Program for 2022/23 FY
Management and Adminstration 5%
Higher Education 24%
Secondary Education 12%
Basic Education 59%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Source: Ministry of Finance Books and IFMIS
Basic Education Program got the largest share of 59% of the education sector recurrent budget.
This allocation has been lower than in the 2021/22 FY allocations, which stood at 60% of the
total education recurrent budget. Salaries and Primary School Improvement Program (PSIP)
grants took a large portion of the basic education budget. Out of approved budget of MK270.41
billion allocated to basic education, MK223.36 billion was for salaries for the primary school
teachers implying that 83% of the resources under basic education were for salaries and 17%
130
of the resources were for other recurrent transactions such as purchase of TLMs and school
grants for all the public primary schools countrywide.
The second largest recurrent allocation to the education sector of 24% was allocated to Higher
Education in the 2022/23 FY. Substantial resources under Higher Education Program were
mainly allocated to subvented organizations such as the six public universities that fall under
Vote 275 for subventions. Out of the approved budget of MK109.97 billion for higher
education program, a total of MK103.24 billion was allocated to the higher education
subventions, representing 94% of the total allocation to the program. The resources under
universities mainly cater for lecturers’ personnel emoluments and operational costs for teaching
and learning in the universities. The remainder of the resources were allocated to the
Department for Higher Education under Vote 250 and other subvented organizations like
National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), Malawi University Development Program
(MUDP) and Higher Education Students’ Loans and Grants Board (HESLGB).
In 2022/23 FY, Secondary Education program was allocated 12% of the total recurrent budget.
Out of the MK56.23 billion allocated to the program, MK37.87 billion was for payment of
salaries for secondary school teachers representing 67% of the recurrent budget. The remainder
was for the Other Recurrent Transactions (ORT) expenses such as purchase of Teaching and
Learning Materials and for day-to-day running costs of about 1250 public secondary schools)
in the country.
The least in 2022/23 FY was allocated to Management and Administration having 5% of the
total recurrent budget (MK22.10 billion). This program provides support services to the three
core programs namely: Basic, Secondary, and Higher Education Programmes. These support
services include Procurement, Finance, Audit, Planning and Policy, Administration, Human
Resource Management and Development.
4.3 Development Budget Allocations

The 2022/23 FY approved budget for education sector development projects was MK67.45
billion of which MK34.27 billion was for development budget part I and MK 33.17 billion was
for development budget part II. During Mid-year Review, Development Budget Part I was
revised upwards from MK 34.3 billion to MK70.18 billion while Part II was revised
downwards from MK33.2 billion to MK20.95 billion. Out of the approved budget of MK67.45
billion, MK21.32 billion was for development projects which were implemented under
education subvented organizations representing 32% of the total development budget.
131
The resources under development budget were allocated mainly to the three core programmes
namely: Basic, Secondary and Higher Education Programmes. The figure below shows how
the development resources were allocated within the education sector.
Figure 124: Education Sector Development Budget Allocations by Program
Basic Secondary Higher

Basic
Higher 31%
35%
Secondary
34%
In 2022/23 FY Higher Education Program was allocated the largest proportion of the
development budget of about 35%. The projects implemented under this program include the
Expansion and Upgrading of Domasi College of Education, Skills for a Vibrant Economy
Project (SAVE) and various projects implemented in the Public Universities. The second
largest allocation under development budget of 34% was directed to the Secondary Education
Program. The projects implemented under this program include construction of girls’ hostels,
construction of construction of science science labouratories and libraries, and construction of
Thumbwe Secondary school. Basic Education Program was allocated 31% of the budget and
the projects implemented include the construction of Primary Schools in urban areas, and
construction of 3 TTCs for Primary School Teachers.
132
4.3.6 2022/23 VOTE 250 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION BUDGET PERFORMANCE
Table 59: 2022-23 VOTE 250 Expenditure Analysis as of 31 ST MARCH, 2023 (in MK)
Source: Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS)
4.3.7 Budget and Funding Utilization

Out of the revised PE budget of MK57.96 billion for Vote 250, funding as of 31st March, 2023
was MK51.81 billion of which MK51.81 billion was spent representing a budget and funding
utilization of 89% and 100% respectively.
As regards ORT for Vote 250, a total of MK18.26 billion was spent as at 31 st March, 2023
against a revised budget and funding provision of MK25.64 billion and MK21.52 billion
respectively implying that 71% of the annual budget and 85% of the funding was utilized.
Out of the revised recurrent budget of MK83.59 billion for Vote 250, funding as of 31st March,
2023 was MK73.33 billion of which MK70.07 billion was spent representing a budget and
funding utilization of 84% and 96% respectively.
The 2022/23 FY approved budget for Vote 250, Ministry of Education, development projects
was MK46.12 billion of which MK34.27 billion was for Development Budget Part I and
MK11.85 billion was for Development Budget Part II. These resources for both Part I and Part
II development budget are resources for development projects which were implemented under
Ministry of Education, Vote 250.
In terms of expenditure for development budget resources under Vote 250, a total of MK25.09
billion was used as at 31st March, 2023 against the revised budget provision of MK73.25 billion
and funding of MK25.87 billion representing a budget and funding utilization of 34% and 97%
respectively. A summary of budget performance for individual project is outlined in Table 4
below:
133
Table 60: Budget Performance for Development Project AS OF 30TH MARCH 2023 IN
(MK ''000,000,000'')
Source: Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS)
4.3.8 Primary Education Recurrent Unit Costs between 2016/17 and 2022/23 FYs
The recurrent primary unit cost has been increasing from MK12, 904 to MK47, 860 between
2016/17 and 2022/23 FYs. The largest chuck of the primary unit cost caters for teachers’
salaries and this provision is increasing every financial year. The unit cost for the 2022/23 FY
also includes the cost of training primary school teachers in the 9 public Teacher Training
Colleges and education subverted organizations like Malawi National Examination Board and
Malawi Institute of Education. The figure below shows the trends of recurrent primary unit
cost between 2016/17 and 2022/23 FYs.
134
Figure 125: Recurrent Unit Cost in primary Education between 2016/17 and 2022/23 FYs
60,000
47,860
50,000
37,239 39,356
40,000 32,594 34,740
30,000 26,820
20,865
20,000
10,000
-
2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23
Primary Unit Cost
4.3.9 Trend of Secondary Education Unit Costs between 2016/17 and 2022/23 FY
The recurrent unit cost of teaching and learning in secondary schools per learner per year has
been fluctuating from 2016/17 FY to 2019/20 FY and steadily increasing from 2020/21 FY to
2022/23 FY from MK128,324 to MK134,508. There are a number of factors contributing to
this trend and these include increasing operational costs for secondary schools and over 80
percent of these schools are currently are Cost Centres, access direct funding from Treasury.
As is the case with primary education recurrent unit cost, the largest proportion of the unit cost
for secondary education was for payment of teachers’ salaries. This means that a smaller
proportion is left for the day to day running of about 1250 public secondary schools. The
secondary sub-sector is also expanding as such there is need to increase the allocation of the
resources. Below are the trends of secondary recurrent unit costs between 2016/17 and 2022/23
FYs.
Figure 126: Trend of Unit Cost in Secondary Education between 2016/17 and 2022/23 FYs
150,000 129,867 116,448 128,324 132,379 134,508
114,815
96,201
100,000
50,000
-
2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23
Secondary Unit Cost
Note: Enrolment figures only include students in public schools.
135
4.3.10 Major Education Sector Achievements in the 2022/23 by Programme
Below are some of the major outputs which the education sector achieved with the resources
provided under each programme in the 2022/23 financial year.
4.3.10.2 Basic Education
1. Recruited and deployed 4,125 primary school Auxiliary Teachers under the Malawi
Education Reform Programme (MERP) in 2022/23 FY;
2. As a first step towards expansion of the provision of Teaching and Learning Materials
(TLMs) for primary schools, the Ministry procured and distributed 51,000 desks to
primary schools with support from UNICEF and procured and distributed 480,000
textbooks including specialized materials in 2022/23 FY;
3. In order to increase enrolment of primary school student teachers and improve the
quality of education in primary schools, government has finalized the construction of
three (3) TTCs for primary school teachers each with 600 bed capacity (300 males and
300 females) in Mchinji, Rumphi, and Chikwawa districts;
4. The Ministry, with financial support from World Bank, is implementing Malawi
Education Reform Programme (MERP). The Programme objective is to improve
learning environments for students in lower public primary schools. The programme
will among other things, improve school leadership which will help school management
to effectively manage the schools. Led by the University of Malawi, School of
Education, the following have been done under the school leadership improvement
component:
a) Identified head teachers, deputy head teachers, and female section heads totalling
to 10,200 to be involved in the MERP school leadership (SLP) Programme;
b) Drafted 4 modules and Operational Manual; and
c) Commenced training of the 10,200 head teachers, deputy head teachers, and female
section heads; and
5. Maintained enrolment in Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) of 5,070 in 2022/23
academic year, representing 100% bed space. Over and above this, 1,800 student
teachers will commence training in the three (3) new Teacher Training Colleges in
2023/24 FY.
136
4.3.10.3 Secondary Education
1. The Ministry through the Secondary Education Expansion for Development (SEED)
Project is constructing 250 secondary schools across the country. The overall Project
objective is to increase access to secondary education through expanding schools in
urban areas and establishing new schools in rural areas. Under Phase II, group 1 of the
project started in 2021/22 financial year and involved construction of 38 new CDSSs
in the rural areas, out of which 30 have been completed and opened in January 2023.
The remaining 8 new schools are 51.2% complete and are expected to be completed by
June, 2023;
2. The Ministry has started Construction of 34 Secondary Schools of Excellence, so far
sites have been identified in the six pilot districts of Chikwawa, Phalombe, Mangochi,
Lilongwe, Nkhotakota, and Rumphi. The Ministry has engaged a consultant who has
finalized detailed designs and construction works will commence in 2023/24 FY;
3. In order to increase the number of secondary school teachers, the Ministry has recruited
and deployed 2,644 secondary school teachers in 2022/23 FY; and
4. As part of the drive to increase access to secondary school education, the Ministry
provided bursaries to thirty thousand five hundred fifty-two (30,552) vulnerable
students out of which 22,021 are girls and 8,531 are boys.
4.3.10.4 Higher Education
1. Government is committed to provide the necessary infrastructure for the new delinked
Public Universities. The Ministry of Education continues to construct various structures
in the delinked Public Universities and progress is as follows:
a) Expansion and rehabilitation of school of economics completed at UNIMA which
includes 350 seater lecture theatre and 100 seater computer laboratory. Construction
of new buildings and rehabilitation of other structures is at 58% completion;
b) Construction of new administration block and teaching complex completed at
LUANAR. The aadministration block has 56 offices and 3 Board rooms, and
teaching complex includes 2 lecture theatres each with 420 capacity, Science
Laboratories, Lecturer rooms;
c) Expansion and rehabilitation of two Campus Hostels completed at MUBAS while
construction of Technical Education Building is at 2% completion while expansion
and rehabilitation of Science Blocks, Water Supply Systems is at 5% completion;
137
d) Construction of an administration block at KUHeS- College of Medicine is at 20%
completion and is expected to be completed by 2025;
e) Funding for construction of Kamuzu High-Tech University Teaching Hospital
secured;
f) Construction of an industrial park at MUST is at 65% completion while construction
of purpose-built science laboratories is at 10% completion;
g) Construction of library and ICT centre at MZUNI is at 40% completion; and
h) Expansion and upgrading of Domasi College of Education completed;
2. Government has partnered with the private sector to construct hostels in all Public
Universities through Public Private Partnership Commission (PPPC). Old Mutual
Group has constructed and handed over a 154-bed space hostel to Kamuzu University
of Health Sciences (KUHeS). Government through the PPPC continues to engage other
partners such as World Bank and Old Mutual to finance the construction of hostels in
the country`s public universities; and
3. Increased enrolment in public universities from 55,002 students in 2021/22 academic
year, to 67,057 students in 2022/23 academic year, representing a 21.9% increase.
4.3.10.5 Administration and Management
1. The Ministry has developed the Learning Management System for In-service and Pre-
service Teachers. The on-line platform has been zero-rated for free access on Airtel
Network. This will promote electronic continuous professional development (e-CPD)
for teachers;
2. The Ministry, through SADC Cyber Infrastructure Initiative, acquired and installed a
High-Performance Computing (HPC) Facility to be used to solve single or multiple
problem in all sectors. For example, forecast of spread of infectious diseases like
cholera or prediction of flood damage to school infrastructure in a given location or
indeed the design and modeling of industry grade automobile or bridge infrastructure.
Some of these solutions were developed by our university students at the Global
UNESCO-India-Africa Hackathon and will be continued in Malawi in 2023 using the
HPC facility;
3. The Ministry has increased investment in Research, Science, Technology and
Innovation in order to transform Malawi into a knowledge-based economy. So far, there
has been the following progress:
138
a) Appropriation of science and technology fund; and
b) Establishment of 5 Centres of Excellences;
4. Strengthened the activities of Institutional Integrity Committees IICs both at central and
district level in order to fight corruption;
5. Conducted the education Joint Sector Review;
6. Developed teachers’ policy and open, distance and e-Learning Policy; and
7. Successfully hosted the SADC meeting of Ministers of Education.
139
ANNEX I - MAPS
140
141
142
143

2023 EMIS Report Final

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

2023 EMIS Report Final

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

2023 EMIS Report Final

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (EMIS)

FOREWORD ..................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Total Primary Enrollment 4,943,633 5,298,456

Boys 2,418,376 2,604,493

Girls 2,525,257 2,693,963

Total Primary Public-School Enrolment 4,783,093 5,120,080

Boys 2,339,456 2,516,869

Girls 2,443,637 2,603,211

Total Primary Private School Enrolment 160,540 178,376

Boys 78,920 87,624

Girls 81,620 90,752

New Entrants into Primary (standard 1) 620,848 661,014

Boys 309,663 335,298

Girls 309,163 325,716

Total Secondary enrollment 441,102 485,650

Boys 225,229 245,959

Girls 215,873 239,691

Total Public TTC Enrollment (IPTE) 8,970 7,154

Boys 4,725 3,371

Girls 4,245 3,783

Total Number of Primary schools 6,750 6,954

Public 5,860 5,878

Private 890 1,076

Total Number of Secondary schools 1,610 1,774

Public (government and religious) 1,259 1,350

Private 351 424

Open day sec Schools 327 419

Gross Intake Rate Primary 116.0 119.4

Boys 115.6 120.8

Net Intake Rate Primary 75.9 79.4

Boys 74.1 78.8

Girls 77.7 79.9

Gross enrolment rate Primary 113.9 128

Boys 118.4 125.6

Girls 109.3 130.4

Net enrolment rate Primary 88.0 91

Gross enrolment rate secondary 24.3 26.1

Boys 25.4 27.1

Girls 23.1 25.2

Net enrolment rate Secondary 16.6 17

Boys 16.4 16.9

Girls 16.8 17.1

QUALITY INDICATORS 2021/22 2022/23

Pupil Teacher Ratio- Primary 59.0 61

Pupil Qualified Teacher Ratio- Primary 62.0 64

Pupil permanent classroom ratio- Primary 98.0 102.5

Pupil qualified Teacher Ratio (PqTR)- Secondary 32.3 34

Pupil qualified Teacher Ratio (PqTR)- Public Sec 34.1 28.1

Pupil qualified Teacher Ratio (PqTR)- Private Sec 26.6 48.8

Pupil permanent Classroom Ratio (PpCR)- Secondary 60.0 62.6

Pupil permanent Classroom Ratio (PpCR)- Public 70.9 62.6

Pupil permanent Classroom Ratio (PpCR)- Private 41.7 62.7

Drop-out proportion primary 4.7 4

Drop-out proportion Secondary 5.9 5.0

Boys 4.5 4.06

Girls 7.3 5.99

Survival rate to Standard 5 62 69

Survival rate to standard 8 39 39

Completion rates Primary 56 48