The Global Partnership for Education approves US$44.9 million grant to support children’s education in Malawi
A group of young students in a Malawi Primary School Credit: GPE/Tara O'Connell

Oslo, June 17 2016 – Today, the Board of Directors of the Global Partnership for Education approved a US$44.9 million grant for education in Malawi. 

The four-year grant will focus on improving the quality of early education in Malawi and enabling more girls to remain in school.

“Malawi has made encouraging progress in its educational outcomes in recent years,” said Alice Albright, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Partnership for Education Secretariat. “With this grant, the Global Partnership for Education is pleased to continue to help Malawi build on its growing commitment to give all its children the quality schooling they deserve.”

“The Malawi Government is committed to achieve inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all,” said Dr. Emmanuel Fabiano, Minister of Education Science and Technology. “The financial support from GPE will assist Malawi in its efforts to achieve this goal.”

Seventy percent, or US$ 31.43 million, of the grant will fund the improvement of existing school buildings and the construction of new schools and sanitary facilities. It will also support the development of a larger and better-prepared cadre of teachers, as well as enhanced school management practices. Vulnerable populations including girls and children with disabilities will specifically benefit from this program.

Under its results-based funding model, GPE will award the remaining 30%, or US$13.47 million, of the grant based on Malawi’s progress in several areas: retention of girls in upper primary schools, reductions in repetition rates in lower primary education and enhancement of learning environments in early grades.

Malawi joined GPE in 2009 and received a GPE grant of US$90 million for 2010 through 2015, part of a pooled funding arrangement totaling US$256 million with co-financing from Germany, the International Development Association, UNICEF and the UK Department for International Development. The World Bank is GPE’s grant agent in Malawi supervising the grant implementation. Germany and Norway are the GPE coordinating agencies in country.

The previous funding enabled Malawi to construct or rehabilitate nearly 3,000 classrooms and boarding facilities; provide financial support to more than 80,000 students to attend school; train almost 24,000 teachers and 1,500 head teachers; acquire and distribute more than 26 million new textbooks; and help local schools prepare strategic and annual work plans.

Challenges in the country's education system remain, including: inadequate school facilities, high dropout rates and pupil-teacher ratios, low completion rates and weak learning achievement for children in poor rural areas where HIV/AIDS prevalence is high.

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Media contacts:

In Lilongwe: Manfred Ndovi, mndovi@yahoo.co.uk

In Washington, D.C.: Alexandra Humme, ahumme@globalpartnership.org

A group of young students in a Malawi Primary School Credit: GPE/Tara O'Connell

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