The Education System in Malawi
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Table 8.4: Annual Average Income and Expected Annual Income According to Level of Schooling Annual Average Income for People Working (MK)
Expected Annual Income Taking into Account Unemployment risk (MK)
7,095
7,015
No school
Income Increase Compared to Previous Level of Education, in %
Lower primary
8,112
8,005
14.1
Upper primary
12,983
12,715
58.8
Lower secondary
24,969
24,038
89.1
Upper secondary
63,566
57,121
137.6
Technical college
176,582
169,221
196.3
Higher education
952,027
929,233
449.1
Source: IHS 2004.
Particularly high is the income jump for people with higher education, who are expected to earn almost 450 percent more than their peers who have only a TC education. The IHS data indicate very high wage premiums for technical and higher education, meaning a high labor market demand for the TEVET and higher education qualified workforce, and at the same time reflecting the extraordinary low enrollment rate for both educational streams (see chapters 6 and 7). In higher education, the wage premium is extremely high compared to other countries. Recent comparable data of mean income by educational level as a percentage of GDP per capita were available for five African countries in addition to Malawi. Figure 8.2 shows that up to the lower secondary level, the mean income as a percentage of GDP in Malawi stays low in comparison to the other countries. It approaches the higher end of the group with three times the GDP per capita in upper secondary, and rises above all other countries for people with a technical training background, who can expect to earn 8.25 times the country’s per capital income. However, the ratio of expected incomes to GDP per capita rises to an enormous 44.5 for people with a tertiary education background, way beyond that of other countries. Figure 8.2: Mean Income by Level of Education in Relation to GDP per Capita (in %)
Ratio education/GDP
50 45
Mali 2004
40
Mauritania 2004
35
Benin 2006
30
Burkina 2003
25 20
Congo Rep. 2005
15
Malawi 2004
10 5 0 No school
Source: World Bank database.
Primary
Lower sec.
Upper sec.
TEVET
Tertiary