Private  secondary  schools  in  Malawi  

What  is  ‘low’  about  ‘low  fee’  private  secondary  schools  in  Malawi?  

Secondary  educa<on  in  Malawi  •  Small  secondary  sector  in  Malawi  overall  •  Selec<ve  public  sector  – Na<onal  schools  – Grant  aided  schools  –  Conven<onal  schools  –  CDSS  

•  Private  schools  submit  20%  of  entrants  to  MSCE  exam  – Also  a  diverse  sector  – We  focus  on  the  cheapest  legal  private  schools  

Sampling  private  secondary  schools  

•  3  districts  –  Zomba,  Blantyre,  Dedza  •  Rural  and  urban  schools  •  The  cheapest  legal  schools  we  could  find  

Performance  

•  Rela<vely  beRer  than  the  public  sector?  – Private  schools  perform  beRer  than  the  worst  public  schools  overall  

– But  the  best  performing  group  are  public  schools  – The  cheapest  private  schools  perform  very  poorly  

•  Absolutely  good  performance?  – Standards  very  low  compared  to  expecta<ons    

Socioeconomic  Status  

Teacher  Turnover  in  Case  Study  Schools  School   Teacher  Turnover  Grave     13%  Loca<on   29%  Mzungu   6%  Dwelling   67%  Crack   67%  Jungle   33%  Rocky   2%  Airport   25%  Tarmac   20%  Ideal     7%  Effort   0%  Hilly   0%  Trading   67%  Dambo   18%  Foreign   0%  Average   24%  

Student  turnover  

Drop  out  and  Migra8on  in  Case  Study  Schools  

   in  migra<on  2011/12  

out  migra<on  2011/12  

dropout  2010/11  

dropout  2011/12  

Grave   9%   14%   23%   45%  Effort   11%   8%   9%   12%  

Rocky   7%   8%   7%   10%  

Dambo   22%   21%   20%   35%  

Mzungu   25%   9%   11%   13%  

Loca<on           15%   12%  

Average   15%   12%   14%   21%  

Fees  per  term  in  Kwacha  

•  Rela<vely  lower  than  the  public  sector?  – The  cheapest  legal  form  of  private  schooling  is  more  expensive  than  the  cheapest  form  of  public  schools.  

– But  cheaper  than  high  performing  public  schools  

•  Absolutely  low  fees?  – Fees  for  all  types  of  secondary  educa<on  are  unaffordable  for  all  apart  from  the  wealthiest  quin<le.  

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Investment  (efficiency)  

What  is  ‘low’  about  ‘low  fee’  private  secondary  schools  in  Malawi?  

•  Fees  -­‐  High  •  Performance  -­‐  Low  •  Socio-­‐economic  status  -­‐  High  •  Student  and  teacher  fluctua<on  –  High  •  Investment  -­‐  Low