Review of the Planning and Implementation of Free Primary Education in Malawi • 175
The government adopted an open door policy that allowed children to enroll or reenroll in any grade irrespective of age. This policy resulted in an influx of children, many of whom were overage, into the primary school system. The rate of enrollment growth following FPE was higher for boys than for girls in every standard except for the last three grades of primary school. Overall, boys’ enrollment grew at a faster pace than did girls’, reversing the trend in enrollment growth that was evident before the universalizing of primary education, when girls’ enrollment grew at a faster rate than boys’ (see table 5.3). However, the majority of those who entered school enrolled in standard 1 alone, suggesting that school fees were an important determinant of nonparticipation in school. Other factors such as the elimination of the uniform requirement and the readmittance policy for pregnant girls may have contributed to increasing enrollments, but there is no doubt that the impact of the school fee waivers was the major reason for enrollment increase. Absolute primary school enrollment increased from 1,400,682 (44.9 percent for girls) in 1990/91 to 1,895,423 (48 percent for girls) in 1993/94, an increase of 35 percent over the period (see table 5.3 and figure 5.1). The immediate impact of the enrollment increase was, however, a decrease in the proportion of girls enrolled in primary school from 48 percent in 1993/94 to 47 percent in 1994/95, as more boys enrolled
Table 5.3 Primary School Enrollments by Gender, 1990/91–2005 Year
Total
Girls (percent)
1990/91
1,400,682
44.9
1991/92
1,662,583
44.8
1992/93
1,795,451
47.2
1993/94
1,895,423
48.1
1994/95
2,860,819
47.0
1995/96
2,887,107
47.0
1997
2,905,950
47.7
1998
2,805,785
48.6
1999
2,896,280
48.2
2000
3,016,972
48.4
2001
3,187,835
48.4
2002
3,164,191
49.0
2003
3,067,843
49.6
2004
3,166,786
49.8
2005
3,200,646
49.8
Source: Ministry of Education.