The Education System in Malawi
17
Table 2.2: Schooling Coverage by Level of Education (2000–2007)
Age group
Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) (%) ECD (0–5)
2000 2001
Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) Primary (%) Std1– Std5– Std1– Std4 Std8 Std8
Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) Secondary (%) Form Form Form 1–2 3–4 1–4
# of learners per 100,000 inhabitants TEVET
# of students per 100,000 inhabitants Higher Education
# of learners per 100,000 inhabitants Adult Literacy
(6–9)
(10–13)
(6–13)
(14–15)
(16–17)
(14–17)
2
158.6
73.3
119.8
18.7
13.3
16.0
n.a.
34
759
3
160.3
74.9
121.5
18.9
14.6
16.8
n.a.
36
739
2002
5
153.4
70.5
115.7
12.1
9.3
10.8
n.a.
38
792
2003
5
146.6
64.5
109.1
13.7
9.9
11.9
n.a.
37
811
2004
8
144.7
62.5
106.9
18.0
13.3
15.8
n.a.
44
806
2005
21
141.3
61.2
104.2
17.4
13.3
15.5
n.a.
48
983
2006
21
140.5
60.9
103.4
19.7
15.5
17.7
n.a.
55
1,078
2007
23
136.6
61.4
101.2
18.3
14.1
16.3
35
61
Sources: Calculation based on EMIS, Data from the Ministry of Women and Child Development and UN population statistics. (Reasons for use of the UN population database are mentioned in Appendix 2.3.) Note: GER for pre primary, primary, and secondary education are computed by dividing the total enrollment by the reference age group population. GER is not computed for TEVET, higher education, and adult literacy because there is not a unique reference age group for those levels of education and they are not delivered with a unique curriculum and for a unique duration.
Secondary Education
ɶ
The GER did not change significantly from 2000, staying at around 18 percent for forms 1–2 (lower secondary) and 14 percent for forms 3–4 (upper secondary).
Adult Literacy
ɶ ɶ
Enrollment slowly grew between 2000 and 2006— from 759 learners per 100,000 inhabitants to 1,078. However, the percentage of the targeted population enrolling in adult literacy education (those aged 15 to 49) remains low (5.7 percent). See table 2A.1 in Appendix 2.2.
TEVET
ɶ
Results show very low educational coverage—in 2007, the number of learners per 100,000 inhabitants was only 35.
Higher Education
ɶ ɶ
Coverage was only 61 students per 100,000 inhabitants. Nevertheless, higher education coverage has increased a lot since 2000, when it was only 34 students per 100,000 inhabitants.
Using data summarized in Table 2.3, it is possible to compare the educational coverage in Malawi to that of the other SADC countries. For both preschool and primary education, Malawi is close to the average; however, it remains far from the average in secondary and higher education.4