Stakeholders have punched holes in People’s Party president Joyce Banda’s promise to make secondary school education free if she wins September 16 General Election, saying it is not feasible as it would cost K67 billion yearly.
The 2024 Education Sector Performance Report (ESPR) shows that recurrent unit cost of teaching and learning in secondary schools per learner per year is K175 287 and there were 384656 students in public secondary schools in the 2023/24 academic year.
If all these were to be funded, it would cost the country K67 425 196 272 a figure which experts in the academia have said would not be easy to find.
While addressing rallies across the country, former president Banda has been pledging free secondary education, owing to the many students who drop out due to fees.
Rumphi East legislator Kamlepo Kalua also proposed the same in Parliament last September.
PP publicity secretary Ackson Kalaile Banda responding to JB critics yesterday, said selection of students into secondary schools will remain unchanged, arguing, there will be no more need to expand schools or new employments for teachers.
He said: “When launching our manifesto, it when we shall give full details of the whole program as how it will be done but be assured that secondary education will be for free once PP is elected into power.
“It is well researched and I can assure you that all factors you have raised will be factored in for the betterment of our education. Despite being out of power our president has been sponsoring more than 140 000 students from secondary to tertiary education.”
As verified in the ESPR 2024, government is already struggling to meet the demand for bursaries, with only 36 percent of applicants receiving support in 2024, as only 24 605 out of 68 422 applicants, were funded.
Civil Society Education Coalition (Csec) executive director Benedicto Kondowe said free secondary education requires substantial investment in expanding classrooms, recruiting and training more teachers, and ensuring adequate teaching and learning materials.
He said: “Fully funding all public secondary school students would require over K67 billion annually, a financial burden that Malawi’s constrained education budget is unlikely to sustain without significant revenue increases or external funding.
“Without parallel investments in infrastructure and human resources, the system risks collapsing under the pressure of increased enrolment. Malawi could expand and improve targeted bursary programmes to reach more disadvantaged students.”
He said government would need a sustainable financing model, like through increased budget allocation, innovative taxation, or donor support.
But education expert Limbani Nsapato backs Joyce Banda, saying the call aligns with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 4) which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all by 2030.
“In 2018, government started a move towards free secondary education by removing tuition and textbook revolving fund.
“So, we can start by allocating 20 percent of the budget towards education to kick start investments, but also to ensure that all children applying for bursaries have to be accommodated.”
Based on the 2024 ESPR, 24 371 students dropped out of school in 2024, up from 22 069 the previous year. In 2024 alone, 12 545 students dropped out due to lack of fees, followed by marriage at 3 211 while 61 cited lack of interest.
