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Ministry of Education Science and Technology has hailed Malawi National Examination Board (MANEB) for administering free leakage examination for the past two years and has since promised to continue engaging various stakeholders in ensuring that the board maintain its stand.
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Exams time[/caption]
MoEST Director of Secondary and Distance Education, Chikondano Mussa made the remarks at Chichiri secondary school in Blantyre on Wednesday when she presided over the official opening of MANEB annual review meeting.
The meeting which attracted different stakeholders including the officers from District Councils, Malawi Police Service and Education officials, was aimed at reviewing the 2015 examination administration at Primary School Leaving Certificate, Junior Certificate Examination and Malawi School Certificate of Education.
In addition, the meeting also focused on adopting best practices of curbing cheating malpractices.
Mussa commended stakeholders for their pivotal role they played in ensuring that there were no cheating malpractices during the 2014 and 2015 examinations despite encountering logistical challenges.
“We had a problem of transport to ferry examination papers to their respective centres, however this was sorted through the interventions by the District Councils and Chief Executive Officers.
“As such I must commend all stakeholders for their efforts in ensuring that for past two consecutive years, Maneb administered free leakage examinations at all levels. This is our success story and we are happy for this,” said Mussa.
She further said the examination board is more than prepared to make sure that all the requirements for smooth administration of the examinations are in order.
“We are aware that examinations are around the corner and i can ably say that we are almost done with every stage in as far as administration of examination is concerned. This is starting from registration of candidates, preparations of papers and choosing invigilators among others.
“In terms of logistics, we will continue working in collaboration with relevant authorities such as the DCs and CEOs so that they mobilise resources at district level to ensure that there is transport to ferry examination papers in time,” she said.
The Director therefore appealed to the public to guard against any cheating malpractice saying: “this will not only uphold the examination’s dignity but also Malawi as whole.”
Commenting on the same, Blantyre District Council Charles Kalemba said will continue working in collaboration with Maneb to make that examinations are received, protected and also written in secured manner run through the process of writing securely and also be able to transport them in respective centres.
“We will continue to ensure that examinations are run through the process of writing securely and are also transported to their respective centres.
“This meeting will therefore help us to share our experiences, learn lessons so that we can also do best in this year and years to come,” he said.
For the past years, Maneb has been marred with cheating malpractices among candidates and teachers, a situation that lowered education standard especially to JCE and MSCE holders.
Hand-clappers: Ministers having some cheers after winning vote to cut education budget[/caption]
Ministre of Finance Goodall Gondwe had proposed to cut the budget by K500 million from K113.8 billion to K113.7 billion.
Gondwe said the ministry does not need this money allocated from now up to June 2017.
He said this is why the government decided to reallocate the money to other ministries and government departments.
Gondwe said this in parliament where legislators are vetting mid-year national budget which has seen a surprise cut from K930 billion to K906 billion.
However, opposition MPs questioned the rationale of cutting the education ministry vote when public education system is fast collapsing.
They said public schools critically need teaching and learning materials and teachers there it a joke that the government proposed such a cut.
However, Education minister Emmanuel Fabiano assured the House all will be well after the reduction to the vote but the opposition legislators stood their ground until First Deputy Speaker Esther Mcheka Chilenje put a vote on whether the Education budget should be reduced or not to which the government won.
The win surprised the government which has few MPs than the opposition force of Malawi Congress Party and People's Party.
The government legislators celebrated just a day after two budgets for State Residences and Office of President were deferred as opposition MPs rejected their increase.
President Mutharika with Catholic bishop who say education is the fulcrum of the nation's development. It is the foundation upon which all other sectors are built. at the function[/caption]
“Lack of or overcrowded classrooms, lack of teaching materials, shortage of teachers and deteriorating infrastructures – dilapidated buildings, near-collapsed libraries and ill-equipped laboratories, among others are the many signs of a malfunctioning education system,” reads the pastoral letter under the theme ‘Mercy of God as a Path of Hope’, read out in Catholic Churches nationwide.
“ We wish to underline that no country can achieve any meaningful development without investment in education,” the bishops said.
Catholic Church contributes immensely to education sector in the country with many reputable learning institutions.
The Bishops also expressed concern about the possible impact of the abolition of Standard 8 and Junior Certificate examinations.
“We wish there were wider discussions and consultations before such a decision was made. This could dispel fears people have that the government only wanted to do away with Standard 8 and Junior Certificate exams for economic expediency and not raising the standards of education,” reads the pastoral statement.
The bishops also said while they are appreceg the support the government renders to the Church-owned schools, the appeal to authorities “ to do more by supporting infrastructural development in secondary schools if indeed our youth are to reach their fulfilment more fully and more easily.”
Exams time[/caption]
MoEST Director of Secondary and Distance Education, Chikondano Mussa made the remarks at Chichiri secondary school in Blantyre on Wednesday when she presided over the official opening of MANEB annual review meeting.
The meeting which attracted different stakeholders including the officers from District Councils, Malawi Police Service and Education officials, was aimed at reviewing the 2015 examination administration at Primary School Leaving Certificate, Junior Certificate Examination and Malawi School Certificate of Education.
In addition, the meeting also focused on adopting best practices of curbing cheating malpractices.
Mussa commended stakeholders for their pivotal role they played in ensuring that there were no cheating malpractices during the 2014 and 2015 examinations despite encountering logistical challenges.
“We had a problem of transport to ferry examination papers to their respective centres, however this was sorted through the interventions by the District Councils and Chief Executive Officers.
“As such I must commend all stakeholders for their efforts in ensuring that for past two consecutive years, Maneb administered free leakage examinations at all levels. This is our success story and we are happy for this,” said Mussa.
She further said the examination board is more than prepared to make sure that all the requirements for smooth administration of the examinations are in order.
“We are aware that examinations are around the corner and i can ably say that we are almost done with every stage in as far as administration of examination is concerned. This is starting from registration of candidates, preparations of papers and choosing invigilators among others.
“In terms of logistics, we will continue working in collaboration with relevant authorities such as the DCs and CEOs so that they mobilise resources at district level to ensure that there is transport to ferry examination papers in time,” she said.
The Director therefore appealed to the public to guard against any cheating malpractice saying: “this will not only uphold the examination’s dignity but also Malawi as whole.”
Commenting on the same, Blantyre District Council Charles Kalemba said will continue working in collaboration with Maneb to make that examinations are received, protected and also written in secured manner run through the process of writing securely and also be able to transport them in respective centres.
“We will continue to ensure that examinations are run through the process of writing securely and are also transported to their respective centres.
“This meeting will therefore help us to share our experiences, learn lessons so that we can also do best in this year and years to come,” he said.
For the past years, Maneb has been marred with cheating malpractices among candidates and teachers, a situation that lowered education standard especially to JCE and MSCE holders.
Major 1 Bushiri : To construct schools in Malawi[/caption]
Bushiri made the revelations to Nyasa Times in an exclusive interview f explaining that he has secured millions of bags of cement to help with the project.
He said the project aims to make education available to Malawi youth especially those in rural areas.
"We need to make Malawi a better place to live. Most of the ignorance we have is as a result of illiteracy. I want to take a leading role in giving a future to our young ones with quality education," said Bushiri.
He further explained that the project will target rural areas and said he would simply fund people building secondary schools, whether private or public institutions..
Bushiri said he will disclose the projected budget for the project.
Asked how he plans to go about it in relation to the lukewarm reception he is getting from government, Bushiri said he will do all the paper work and follow every protocol.
"I know they have been saying I don’t consult them, well, I will do all the paper work and make sure they are involved where necessary,” said Bushiri.
“But let me make it clear that I will directly fund the projects that will be selected and not give money to government. Otherwise, I love government and I respect our President. He is the father of the nation and I am loyal to his leadership unless they want to push me away deliberately," said Bushiri.
Bushiri- fondly called ‘Major 1 - said he is not afraid of what is going and he will stand strong saying "Poison in a cup can kill but same amount of poison if put in Lake Malawi is no longer poison. It takes how small or big you are to be affected with such baseless allegations. Malawi is now wise even a villager can judge that I aim for a better Malawi.”
Pressed to comment on scathing allegations peddled against him by his detractors, Bushiri said he would not dignify them with his comment but the posterity will judge him leniently.
Ndovi: We will resolve this[/caption]
Ministry of Education spokesperson Manfred Ndovie said the government want to resolve the grievances, 24 in number amicably without TUM withdrawing labour of its teachers.
“We will meet TUM soon. We were supposed to meet them sometime back but we indeed failed to turn up, not because out of disrespect but because we needed to thoroughly consult on some of the issues, as you might be aware that there is an issue of K160 million arrears, we needed to consult treasury on the issue,” he said.
TUM president Chauluka Muwake said it was a joke for the government to tell those who successfully passed interviews and were promoted to Grade K or PT3 that they would get to their new position after someone on the same grade dies so the government would just make a replacement.
Most teachers in Lilongwe confirmed this an interview and Nyasa Times has copies of one of the teachers who successfully passed the interviews and the government wrote her a promotion letter only to hold the promotion later until someone dies so that she could be replaced.
Muwake also said most secondary school teachers were not paid in March and the government has not yet paid them until now.
TUM also accuses the government of threatening to withdraw promotions of some primary school teachers who were promoted on understanding that they would take up rural school positions.
“The ministry says it wants to withdraw the promotions because they had not gone to the schools where they were posted yet the government has not given them transport. Let the government provide transport,” he said.
He also claimed some secondary school teachers have not yet received leave grants for the last school calendar.
Kalekeni: Teachers call off strike[/caption]
TUM secretary general Denis Kalekeni said the government has agreed to pay all promoted teachers starting May and the last group in June.
In addition, he said the government has said it will offer transport to all teachers who sat for promotion interviews and upon successful were posted to rural areas.
Initially, the ministry of education threatened to withdraw the promotion letters to force the teachers go to the new work stations but the affected teachers said it was the responsibility of government to give them transport.
"They told us that they will meet our demands by June 30 so we have to wait. If they fail to honour their promise then we will go ahead with the sit in," he said.
Kalekeni also blamed some officials at the ministry of Education whom he accused of laziness, not doing their job and messing up these issues.
He said the matter would not have reached this far if the officials handled them with maturity.
TUM asked the government either to transfer them or sack them.