School and Gender Issues

A recent conversation I had with a friend back home reminded me that although I've spent the last 8 months learning about the Malawian education system, most of you have not. For instance, why is it a big deal that my school finally got another female teacher? And why do we have organizations giving bursary money (scholarships) specifically to girls, when we teach students of both genders?

So get ready for a blast of Malawian recent history, and feel free to skip this post if you read this for tales of my travels or whatever.

We have to start by looking at the Malawian government - Malawi was an autocracy, ruled by "President for Life", Dr. Hastings Banda, from the time it left Britain's protectorate in the 1960s until its first free elections in 1994. It was during this election that free primary education was established - prior to that, all education cost money. Schools were relatively uncommon and relatively expensive for your average rural villager.

The creation of free primary school (through standard 8, the equivalent of 8th grade) created lots of challenges in Malawi. Suddenly, the Ministry lf Education needed to build hundreds of schools, stock them with resources and teachers, and provide enough teaching so that any Malawian who so desires can pass the primary school exit examination. Needless to say, this was impossible to do effectively. Schools were flooded with students, and through today there is an incredible shortage of trained teachers. Classes routinely include over 100 students, often with no desks, and many schools hold classes outside because there are not enough classrooms for all students.

In primary schools, students often don't begin school until 6 or 7 years of age, and many miss weeks of class every year due to illness or responsibilities at home. Many students, especially girls, are expected to help the family farm, sell goods in the market, fetch water, cook, and care for siblings. Missing school so often can lead to students as old as 14 or 15 still trying to complete standard 8 and pass the exit exam so they can make it to secondary school.

These problems don't end in secondary school, although many students don't make it this far. Students may become discouraged by their inability to pass the primary school exit exam and drop out, especially girls who perceive their only future as being a wife and mother in the village (a realistic, if sad, expectation). Girls as young as 13 or 14 may drop out to get married or have a child. Parents may not see the point in furthering their child's education either.

Even once students pass out of primary school, challenges abound. Secondary school is not free, and school fees of around $10 per term (3000 kwacha three times a year at my school) are a problem, if not impossible, for many families. The old issues of frequent absenteeism, obligations at home, and lack of resources continue, but now students are travelling up to and hour or two a day to get to school.

The sad fact is that many families struggling to make ends meet, when given the option between educating a son or a daughter, will choise the son.

This is the guiding principle behind organizations like Camfed (the Campaign for Female Education), which provides bursary money and supplies for female students at my school who would otherwise be unable to attend school. Additionally, many NGOs, CBOs (community-based organizations), and Malawian government organizations provide school fees to students all over the country.

Here is something to think about: on any given day, I have up to twice as many male students in class as I have girls. At least 3 girls have dropped out of school because of pregnancy this school year (that I know about), and at least one was a form 1 student. Girls often stay home while menstruating because of lack of sanitary items. Last year, of the ten form 4 students who passed the MSCE (secondary school exit exam), none were female.

Because of odds like these, especially at the rural level (things are different at schools in town, and schools of a higher level than a community day secondary school), very few girls go on to further education. Often the girls who do are very smart, have parents who believe in education, and were chosen at a young age to attend a district or national secondary school. It doesn't help to have money, either, or girls looking to finance their further education may enter into risky transactional relationships with older, wealther men.

Even if women (and men) successfully complete their education, many choose to leave Malawi, chasing further aspirations in more developed countries abroad.

At every point along this road, girls are facing cultural and peer pressure to stop, get married, and have a family. So many schools remain, like mine until a few weeks ago, with only one female teacher, or none at all.

Pang'ono pang'ono (slowly, slowly) things are changing, especially in more populated areas. In some schools where other volunteers are posted, there are several female teachers. For now, my school is enlisting the help of organizations like Camfed and utilizing our PTA and Mothers' Support Group to support the needs of all our students, especialky the girls. And of course there's me, hoping that at the very least, I can be proof that a girl can go to a university and end up with a bachelor's degree, even in a science subject.