An African school succeeds against the odds

No shortages of challenges
Malawi is also experimenting with better paths to literacy. Instead of making dozens of children simply repeat words in unison, some teachers now rotate them through smaller groups where they can learn more actively and help each other.

It's still early, but parents, educators and private watchdog groups believe Malawi is indeed improving the quality of basic education. Class sizes have begun to come down, there are more qualified teachers in the system and many schools are showing modest improvements in test scores.

But there's no shortage of challenges. One is finding enough primary school teachers in a country where their average monthly pay is about US $80. In addition, many have to travel long distances to get to work. Only a few get free housing for their families on campus because there are not enough houses.

"The trouble is that with the low wages, Malawi and the rest of Africa can never attract enough qualified teachers," says Venunadhan Pillai, the principal at the private Mt. Sinai International School. "The teaching profession has nobility, but little chance for promotion."

Then there is the problem of money. The Education Ministry is the largest in the Cabinet and gets slightly more than 11 percent of Malawi's national budget _ the second highest priority behind agriculture and food security. But that may not be enough, says Limbani Nsapato.

"The government is committed to supporting education and I think education is moving forward," says Nsapato, the head in Malawi of the Civil Society Coalition for Quality Basic Education. But despite the progress, he says, the government needs to more than double education spending to save a generation now languishing in public schools.

One school beats the odds
Chiseka is an example both of what can be done and of how hard it is to do.

Most of the students lucky enough to get one of the dark, mud-brick classrooms huddle in small groups on dingy, cracked and uneven concrete floors. Only eighth-graders have desks, with three students crammed onto a bench made for two. Most children sit outside in the weeds beyond the school's makeshift soccer pitch.

But all the eighth-graders graduated, and all 80 seventh-graders were promoted. None of the other 19 primary schools in the district came close — less than 30 percent of their students scored well enough to advance. Nationwide, the primary school completion rate stands at 29 percent.

"The first and foremost reason for our success is our teachers. They work hard and do what is necessary to help students pass," says headmaster Yowass Nhkoma, explaining that at Chiseka, eighth-grade students and teachers even attend class on holidays to prepare for year-end exams.

Chiseka has made a difficult choice — it would rather have qualified teachers than small classes. Teachers at Chiseka can't have their own classes until completing training, which means some classes are bigger than they need be.

The school has only 14 teachers. But they are motivated and resourceful, said Polina Mkhunga, the government's education adviser, who frequently exchanges Chiseka teachers with those at other schools in an attempt to spread the enthusiasm.

"So many of the teachers at other schools are just dormant," says Mkhunga.

School tries to involve parents
One eighth-grade teacher, Stanley Sosolahe, says proudly that Chiseka teachers believe they can make a difference.

"We work very hard with students who are failing and after a few weeks or months they can turn it around," he says. "Our teachers hand-deliver their marks to the homes of the eighth-grade parents and work with them to motivate the students."

The biggest difference at Chiseka seems to be one of leadership. Teachers are encouraged to go the extra mile, and success motivates them further.

The school also works to involve parents. Sosolahe says parents see the teachers doing more and results improving, and they too want to help.

At Chiseka, villagers used molds to make mud bricks to build new classrooms. Large stacks of bricks wait in the fields around the school and hundreds more are drying in the sun. But Mkhunga says the school has been waiting for years for the government to come up with enough money to pay someone to build the classrooms.

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