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World Bank Working Paper
Early Childhood Development in Malawi falls under the authority of the Ministry of Women and Child Development and contains programs for children from birth to age five. Its main purpose is to protect children’s rights and foster full cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development. Examples of ECD activities include opening preschool centers, recruiting caregivers, and providing instructional materials and some nutrition. ECD services are categorized into two levels. The first—baby care centers for children aged 0–2 years—is usually offered by the private sector. The second level—for children aged 2–5 years—is either provided by the private sector (preschools/nurseries) or the public sector (community based childcare centers), and the government contributes by training caregivers and sometimes providing instructional materials. Adult literacy tries to give adults (aged 15 years and older) a second chance at learning opportunities that may have been missed when they were young. The programs teach the specialized knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are needed to independently engage in active citizenship. Improving adult literacy in Malawi involves opening adult literacy classes, recruiting instructors, and providing teaching and learning materials. It also involves giving adults opportunities for post literacy activities that may include easy reading booklets, skill training, and information about small business management. These programs are free but provided by both governmental and non state entities, including NGOs and private sector and faith based organizations. Enrollment Trends
ECD As table 2.1 shows, enrollment grew steadily from 38,166 children in 1998 to 683,826 in 2007. Growth can be mainly explained by an increased advocacy for ECD in early 2000, which allowed private and public institutions to join in the government’s efforts to provide ECD education. Primary education Growth was constant from 1998 to 2001 (figure 2A.2 in Appendix 2.2). High enrollment in primary education is a direct result of the introduction of free primary education in 1994. The sudden decline in 2002 and 2003 was a result of a famine brought on by lack of rain and resulted in most pupils, especially the youngest, dropping out of school. There was a noticeable increase in enrollment from 2004 to 2007, reaching 1.5 percent annually. Enrollment in private institutions (table 2.1) grew more quickly (17.1 percent per year) than in public institutions (1.3 percent), likely a result of a national policy to authorize education provisioned by private institutions that was set up in the early 2000s. Nevertheless, primary education in Malawi is mainly provided by public institutions (religious agencies and the government), which still enrolled nearly 99 percent of the total pupils attending that level of education in 2007. Annual growth is higher in the last four grades of primary schooling (3.4 percent) than in the first (0.7 percent): This could be the consequence of the previous increase in Standard 1’s enrollment consecutive to the introduction of free primary education in 1994.