The Ministry of Education has committed to prioritizing education in the country as an enabler of national development at a commemoration of the International Day of Education that took place in Lilongwe.
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Speaking at Mbinzi Secondary School under the theme ‘To invest in the people, priorities Education,’ former Minister of Education Agnes NyaLonje, pointed out the need for Malawians to join hands in improving education in the country.
“While the government is committed to mobilizing resources to promote education, we need to work together towards improving the education sector because our country cannot move forward without it,” she said.
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She said the ministry is looking into restructuring teaching methods for junior classes to lay the right foundation at the early stages of development of children by providing support and training for junior class teachers.
“It is sad to note that there are high levels of illiteracy amongst our early learners from ages eight to ten, you find that they are unable to read,
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To address such issues, as a ministry has taken a step to transform our education by revising our foundational learning as we look into how we can teach them reading and morality we have already done our research soon we will release a standard that will be followed to ensure that we no longer produce pupils that do not know how to read,” said NyaLonje.
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She also stated that the ministry is reviewing the schools’ curriculum to accommodate special needs students for inclusive education.
The Minister further assured Malawians that the government has put in place a digital payment system for teachers to have easy access to salaries on time and enable them to work effectively.
Commenting on the same, the Executive Dean for the School of Education at the University of Malawi, Dr. Peter Namphande, urged the government and stakeholders to move beyond examinations when reviewing the curriculum to ensure that it becomes relevant to Malawians.
“Our curriculum appears to be academic where we have focused more on students passing exams and when they graduate, they sit at home waiting to be employed,
While our economy is not generating jobs, government and stakeholders should consider incorporating entrepreneurial skills so that graduates become independent without waiting for employment,” said Namphande.