30 846 more students sit MSCE examinations

Minister of Education Madalitso Kambauwa-Wirima has attributed the increase in the number of this year’s Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) examinations’ candidates to efforts in generating interest in education.

Malawi National Examinations Board (Maneb) data show that 184 978 candidates, comprising 96 787 males and 88 191 females are writing the 2024 MSCE examinations, an increase from the 154 132 candidates in 2023.

Speaking when she inspected progress of the examinations at Mulanje and Chambe secondary schools in Mulanje District yesterday, the minister said Malawians have been listening the government’s calls to recognise the importance of education in achieving the county’s development goals.

Said Kambauwa-Wirima: “I attribute the increase to the fact that we are generating a lot of interest from society.

“A lot of people who dropped from school have returned and want to have the MSCE.”

On the progress of the examination which started yesterday, she said no major challenges had been.

Meanwhile, education activists have advised the government to continue raising awareness in schools about the importance of education.

Speaking in an interview, Civil Society Education Coalition executive director Benedicto Kondowe said schools should be empowered to better support students.

“Some of the students drop out because the school environment is not conducive so you need teachers who encourage students to stay in school,” he said.

Educationist Steve Sharra said the increase augurs well with the Malawi 2063 vision, but noted that the current primary school enrolment of 5.3 million against the secondary school enrolment of about 490 000 means that out of 100 secondary-school aged Malawians, only 11 are in school.

He said: “It will be important for the government to expedite the process of widening access by implementing the national digitalisation strategy which will enable Malawians to access education through online learning and distance education models.”

This year’s MSCE examinations end on July 26.