Most government budgets in Africa these days accord top priority to education. In Malawi the Ministry of Education budget’s size has often been second to that of agriculture. This is a realisation that next to food security the nation needs abundant education in quantity and quality.

Every citizen is entitled to basic education as a right. In an industrialised or urbanized environment on illiterate person is nearly as handicapped as a blind person. Take for example, signs which warn of danger spots such as, “beware of dogs,” “trespassers shall be eaten.” An illiterate person goes to these deadly spots having not read the warnings and thereby falls into trouble just like a blind person.

Basic education involves reading writing and numeracy. I read recently a laboured discourse on whether basic education should be given in the mother tongue or national language. To some people Chichewa is both a mother tongue and a national language to others Chichewa is only a national language not a mother tongue. The writer made references to teaching in chiTumbuka and chiYao.

Those opposed to teaching in mother tongue use as their excuse lack of books in chiTumbuka and chiYao. If they studied the history of modern education in Malawi perhaps they would desist from making mountains out of molehills.

Missionaries especially in Northern Malawi and Zambia encountered a variety of tribal languages. They did their best to learn those languages, introduced reading and writing in those languages and even translated the Bible into these languages. How did they cope with the cost factor.

Books required for introducing basic literacy do not require professional authors. Visits to archives of the pioneer missions would bring to light the books or booklets hey used which led to Nyasas to being among the best educated Africans in the whole of British colonial Africa.

What they did was to give through grounding in the mother tongue for four years grouping grades into class one, class two, class three and class four. Those who passed class four went on to standard one where English was introduced together with more advanced arithmetic. Standard six was the highest primary school grade. Many of the men who pioneered nationalist struggles or served as pastors and priests had standard six education.

Later teaching in vernacular was reduced into sub-standard A, sub-standard B and then standard one. With the coming of self government pupils started with standard one and finished the primary with standard eight. They were now in primary school for eight years instead of ten as had been originally.

The question now is at what stage should the national language of Malawi (Chichewa/chinyanja) and the second language English be introduced.

A good deal of confusion arises because of the use of ‘in’ in teaching in the mother tongue the national or second language. Pupils being taught in the mother tongue can be introduced to the national and second languages without being taught in those languages. They may for example be taught basic vocabularies of Chichewa and English right from standard one the teaching being progress varied as the pupils move from standard one to four.

The National language is necessary for general communication English is the language in which we are to do business with people who do not know our language and the language in which to acquire the sciences and technology that are absolutely necessary for social and economic development.

While basic education or literacy are necessary for the dignity and self respect of every person what kind of education is necessary for development is not a settled question. Economic histories of British and continental Europe do not confirm that universal education or literacy is the key to industrialisation, compulsory education was not introduced in English and until the year 1870 whereas the industrial revolution had started in England a century earlier. Indeed what made universal and compulsory education possible was the abundant wealth that industrialisation had brought about.

Economic planning is not so much in the vague these days as it was at the beginning of the past colonial era. But some kind of inductive planning is still absolutely necessary. Both private and public providers of education should concentrate on the curricula that will enable school and college leavers to find jobs because employers need that kind of education and skills.