President Peter Mutharika has announced the cancellation of almost all school-related fees in Malawi, saying the move fulfills a key campaign promise and ordering that “no public school should be requesting learners to make contributions towards the School Development Fund and any other fees, except boarding fees.”
The directive, disclosed in a presidential statement, is intended to reduce the financial barrier to primary and secondary education and to boost enrollment and completion rates. Malawi currently posts a primary school completion rate of 52 percent, and officials said the policy should cut dropouts—which have fallen in recent years but remain a concern.
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Mutharika’s announcement stops short of eliminating boarding fees, which the statement said will continue to be charged. The president specifically named the School Development Fund—money schools typically raise locally for infrastructure and supplies—as a category for which contributions should no longer be sought from parents and caregivers.
Education-sector analysts and civil-society groups welcomed the intent but urged clarity on implementation. Malawi is confronting a severe economic crisis, with the cost of goods and services rising and government revenues under pressure. Several experts caution that the policy’s success hinges on how the state will replace revenues that schools derive from local contributions.
Questions that remain unanswered include how the central government will finance schools’ operating and development needs, whether donors or development partners will be asked to fill gaps, and what timeline will govern the transition. Officials from the education ministry were not quoted in the presidential statement and had not released an implementation plan at the time of the announcement.
- Policy scope: All public schools instructed not to request contributions to the School Development Fund or other fees, except boarding fees.
- Expected impact: Officials say enrollment should rise and dropouts fall; primary completion rate stands at 52%.
- Fiscal concern: Malawi’s economic crisis raises questions about how lost local contributions will be replaced.
- Implementation unknowns: Funding sources, timelines and ministry guidance have not been made public.
Observers noted that the previous administration also struggled with constrained resources for basic services, and some experts said the measure could strain school budgets if central funding does not increase. For many families facing inflationary pressure, the move offers immediate relief; for schools and planners, it imposes urgent fiscal and logistical questions.
Mutharika’s announcement is likely to prompt calls from education unions, parent associations and international partners for rapid clarification. Until the government publishes implementation guidelines and a funding plan, the full effects of the fee cancellations will remain uncertain.
By News-room
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
