Rising standards of education in Malawi improve the future of refugees

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Report Details

Rising standards of education in Malawi improve the future of refugees

DZALEKA REFUGEE CAMP, Malawi, December 13 (UNHCR) – The students who file into classes at Umodzi Katubza Primary School on the edge of Malawi’s main refugee camp are expected this month to repeat the performance that in recent years has given their school the best results in the area.

Despite average class sizes of more than 100, the school that serves Dzaleka refugee camp has had a pass rate of more than 90 percent for the national primary school exams over the past three years. This year the teachers, a mixture of Malawian nationals and refugees, are hoping for even better.

“In 2004 we had a 92 percent pass rate, in 2005 it was 94 percent and this year we expect it to be higher,” said ecstatic headmaster Francis Chakhame.

It is a far cry from the situation just a few years ago. In 1999, the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) took over the running of education in the camp from UNHCR and found a demoralised system with a pass rate of just 17 percent.

“When JRS came here, there were untrained teachers, volunteer teachers,” said Chakhame, who is employed by JRS. “JRS started recruiting government teachers.”

Now there are 19 government-qualified teachers working alongside 22 refugee teachers who have been trained by JRS. They have to cope with 3,500 students in the mornings, but their dedication – and the availability of school supplies – pays off.

JRS, a main implementing partner of UNHCR in the camp of 9,500 refugees, ensures that every child receives exercise books, pens and a school uniform. The contrast with the neighbouring government school – where students in torn clothes must often share books and writing materials – is stark.

“The government invites us to go to their schools to facilitate training because we have better materials. They come and use our library,” said Brother Stan, the JRS director for the camp. “We have never turned away any Malawian.”

The success of the primary school – where nearly half the students are Malawian nationals from the surrounding villages – has increased the pressure to get into the camp’s secondary school, which opened four years ago.

Competition for the 160 places at the secondary school is intense. In the past it was rare for a refugee to attend secondary school because the government school fees were unaffordable. Now, those who pass the entrance exam for the camp’s secondary school receive free education.

“Because of the secondary school, they work hard,” Chakhame said of his primary students.

But the success of the JRS schools in Dzaleka creates its own problems. The refugee population in Malawi is dwindling – from more than 1 million Mozambican refugees a decade ago to less than 15,000 refugees and asylum seekers today. The schools might be educating the refugees for a future outside the country.

“The only problem is: education for what?” asked Brother Stan. “Refugees can’t be employed here and they can’t go on to university.”

Malawi has strict reservations on the rights of refugees to work or travel which make local integration impossible. Although the secondary school follows the Malawian curriculum, the reality is that the graduates will likely use their education elsewhere.

Some may eventually return home to the Great Lakes region or the Horn of Africa, where their skills will be needed to rebuild their shattered countries. Others may be resettled to third countries such as Canada, Australia or the United States, where their education will give them a head start in a new life.