Csec petitions Parliament on delayed Education Bill

Civil Society Education Coalition (Csec) on Friday petitioned the National Assembly to urgently pass the long-awaited Education Bill during the current meeting of the House. In a petition presented to the Education, Science and Human Resources Committee of Parliament member Wictor Songazaudzu Sajeni, Csec argues that continued delays to pass the Education Bill implies government failure to meet educational demands of Malawians. “We have been observing with much concern the ever growing delay in passing the revised Education Bill. We find this delay in answering one of the key needs of the people of Malawi a great misgiving and negation of the Parliament’s mandate to deliver on its responsibilities. “We firmly believe that the proposed revised Education Bill will bring many crucial improvements to the education system in Malawi which can result in a sustainable increase of the quality of education services provided to our children,” reads the petition signed by Csec executive director Benedicto Kondowe and chairperson MacBain Mkandawire. Csec argues that access to poor quality education amounts to no access to education at all, saying access to quality education is a right to all children and not a privilege. Among others, the Education Bill seeks to amend the 1962 Education Act and extend powers of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to regulate standards in private schools and implement compulsory education. Sajeni said his committee would present the petition to the Speaker’s office, saying he is optimistic that the Education Bill will pass once it comes back in the House. During the last meeting of Parliament, he said the legislators left the bill at second reading, pending further scrutiny of the same by the Education Committee of Parliament.