' 94476 ,.. . fjlL .;: ~ MALAWI DETERMINANTS OF GIRLS' PARTICIPATION AND PERSISTENCE IN SCHOOL May 1992 Anjimile Mtila Kapakasa Population and Human Resource Division Southern Africa Department ' ' CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS CUITency Units = Malawi Kwacha (MK) 100 tambala = 1 MK us $1.00 = MK3.20 MK 1.00 = US$0.31 ACRQNYMS CCAM Chitukuko Cha Amayi M'Malawi FHH Female Headed Household GOM Government of Malawi JC Junior Certificaie MCE Malawi Certificate of Education MCDE Malawi College of Distance Education MOCS Ministry of Community Services (now the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs and Community Services) MOEC Ministry of Education and Culture NALP National Adult Literacy Program NCWID National Commission on Women in Development NGO ·Non-Governmental Organization PS Principal Secretary PSLC Primary School Leaver's Certificate UNDP United Nations Development Program UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund WID Women in Development RS.C.AL_YEAR April 1 to March 31 ABSTRACT (i) 'lbia is a study of parental attitudes to schoolinl for girls (compared to boys) at the primary ~ndary level. The study was limited to three districts in Malawi: Mulanje, Mang~ Lilongwe. Three villages were randomly selected from area maps of the districts. Tile study focused on 38 mothers and fathers who were randomly selected. (ii) The study examined the economic and social and cultural facton that influence lirls' participation and persistence in school. Parents were interviewed about their opinions and attitudes toward educating girls in contrast to boys. They were asbd about the educational choices they had made for their children of both. sexes, their perceptions of gender dift'ereuces in .academic abnity, their educational and care« aspirations for their children And the reasons for daughters having left school. There were questions fD explore differences in claims on tbe time of girls and boys, particularly of domestic chores. (iii) The study finds that initiations play an important role. Although low female primary enrollments (59% vs 73% for males in 1988) and high drOpout rates are due to many tieton, there is evidence that initiations contribute significantly. The importance attached to initiation is illustrated by the parents' willingness to pay more for initiation of their daughters than for regular schooling. Parents think that fonnal schooling is expensive, though annual fees and related costs are less than one-quarter of the estimated cost for an initiation ceremony. 1be academic curriculum is felt to have little relevance to dally life, whereas the traditional education· is seen as necessary. This traditional form of schooling provides sexual education which is lacking in the formal school curriculum, and prepares girls for marriage and full participation in community activities. (iv) There is little that the education system can do about the large and thomy problems that make the cost/benefit ratio of educating girls unattractive for parents. This study points to some key policy implications that follow from the findings, that are likely to be novel to most readen, and that could be acted upon by donors and the Government. (1) Communities should be given more infonnatlon about the beilellts of education for girls, in particular, the impact this can have on the health and welfare of their children. Policy makers could use local information meetings to promote the awareness of the importance and benefits of education. Parents should be encouraged to give their pre-pubescent daughten as much education as possible, by enrolling them in·school at age six (many children eorol much later). (2) Village chiefs wield considerable influence, and should be encouraged to help improve participation of girls in school, and be given incentives to do so if moral suasion is not enough. (3) The support or fathers (and other men) needs to be enlisted more, since they seem to play a crucial role in decisions about their children•s participation in school. (4) The school uni~ for girls is much more expensive than for boys (a dress costs about MK12.00, a boy•s shid:·:.about MK4.00). A school uniform sub!ddy for girls might affect the decision of some parems, at the margin. (S) If indeed children themselves decide whether to stay on in school or leave, then it is important to target children themselves to improve their motivation to stay on at school. This could be done, for example, through group and peer counseling, asking and training teachers to give plenty of encouragement and positive feedback ·ro girls especially; and exposing girls and young women to positive role models of educated and successful women. (6) The MOE should. oorisider working with guardians a and initiation teachers, accepting and showing positive attitude to their role as "traditional family life .. teachers, and enlisting their support and help in finding ways t() ensure that girls continue their formal education after initiation. MALAWI DETERMINANTS OF GIRLS' PARTICIPATION AND PERSISTENCE IN SCHOOL ~ ~ Table of COntents I. Introduction . • • . . • . . . . . . • . • . • . . • • • 1 Structure of the Education SyStem • • • • • • • • • • • 2 School Situation . • • • • . . • • • • • . • • • • • . 3 Extent of the Problem of Drop Out by Girls • • • • • • • 3 Previous Research on Gender and Educatiooal Persistence • 6 n. The Pilot Study . • .. . • • • • . • • • • . • • • • • • 7 A. Basic Household Information • • • • . • • • • • 7 B. Reasons Children Drop Out of School • • .• 9 c. The Impact of lnitiatioos • . • . . • • • 12 m. Policy Implications lS IV. Summary . . . . • 17 Bibliography . . . • • • . • • . • • • . • • . • • • ••• 19 FIGURES AND TABLES Figure 1 Primary School Enrollment Rates by Gender, 1980-1988 • . . • . . . • 4 Figure 2 Estimated Dropout Rates by Standard &. by Gmder • • • • • . • • . . 4 Table 1 Primary school enrollments by gender&. standards; 1980-1988 . 4 Table 2 Primary enrollments - girls as percentage of total by standard • • 4 ANNEXES Annex 1 December 1989 Pilot Study • • • . • . . . • . • . • . • • . 25 Annex 2 December 1990 Main Survey Questionnaire . . • • . • • . • • • 29 Annex 3 Recommendations on Increasing Access of Girls &. Women in Education &. Train.ing Opportunities in Malawi • • . . . • • . . • • .37 :~1 This Study was conducted with the cooperation of Minisuy of Community Service~ (now the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs and Community Services), Chiefs and Patty chairmen of Mpale village in Mangochi, Sapua village in Mulanjc and Chimutu Village in Lilongwe Distriet. The Author is indt'bted to them for their usistailcc. In addition she would like to extend her gratitude to the patents who wen: the focua of this study. Her thanks also eo to Dr. Bruce FuUer and St.WIIl HoUoway, Dr. Nwanganp Stuelda, Dr. Joy de Beyer (who edited "the paper), Dr. Steve Heyneman, Professor Reynolds Femmte and Profeuor Joe-Greenberg, Chifuniro and Yembeka Kapakasa, Md Elizabeth Crayford, and to Mn. B. IWyati, who pvc unfailing support in Malawi. and Washington. This research was supported by grants from the World Bank. Africa Region Chief Bconomilt'a, and the Academy for Educational Development's ABEL project, USAID, and Office. Mr. Roser Grawe is the AF6PH Division Chief and Mr. Stephen Denning is the AF6 Depsrtmcnt Director. The findings, intcrprctationa and conelusioll!l in this study an: those of the &uthor, and lboudl not be a&tribl.lled to the World Bank• •---.~·:-•,_-- ~ -. • -~ •.•,• - .. ;:" n - "".-•'•••• •'! ·-~ -;:'."•' - 1- DETERMINANTS OF GIRLS' PARTICIPATION AND PERSISTENCE -' IN SCHOOL IN MALAWI I. INTRODUC'OON 1.1 Counta Bactgrm.m4 'lbe 1987 ceDSUJ revealed that Malawi's population growth rate is 3.7 percent. 1be total population was 7.05 million iD. 1987. Per capita income is US$160. Trade accounts for 13 percent of GDP and manufactmiDg for 12 percent. The main economic activity is agriculture which accounts for 36 pa:cent of the GDP at factor cost and 90 percent of:exports. 'lbe population is predominantly mral (85~). Nearly 30 percent of households are beaded by women. Most Malawian women in rural areas are subsistence farmers; tbe main claims on their time and energy are growing enough food for their families and carin& for the family. Women bear on average 7.6 children, a quarter die before they are 5. Life expectancy at birth is only 43 years. Over SO percent of children UDder S years are malnourished. Because of the lack of secondary schools, only 3 percent of girls reach secondary school. 1.2 Historical Background to the Malawi Educational System Formal education in Malawi was introduced by Christian missionaries whose main aim was to evangelize. By 1910, nearly 85,000 students were studying in 1,050 school$. By 1964 when Malawi became independent, there was a very small but well established foundation on which to build an education system. Since 1964, primary school enrollment has increased 184 per cent from 360,000 to more than one million. The number of secondary school studems increased from nearly 6,000 to over 26,000 and an additiona.l24,000 study through distance education centers. In 1964, there were only 33 Malawians with a University education, now there are more than 8,000 people with degrees from the University of Malawi and abroad (World Bank Human Development Study, 1990. p.69). . ' . . ' . . . .. . 1.3 Past access to education for &itls Girls bad much worse access to education than boys right from the start. Since women could not preach or become preachers, the Missionaries considered education unnecessary for girls. The Colonial government also deliberately ignoied women's education because they feared it would destabilize the traditional society. When the World Bank started lending for education in the late sixties, there were clear gender biases and few girls had access to schooling or were being retained in the secondary system.. · 1.4 S-Ide efforts to increase enrolment for girls began over twenty years ago and have made pod headway. but Malawi is still a long way from equal educational access and achievement for girls. There bas been a modest steady increase in girls' enrollment in primary school from 40.5 per cent of total enrollments in 1978n9 to 44.3 per cent in 1987/88 (Ministry of Educati~n Statistics, 1988). In 1972, the Ministry of Education and Cui!Jlre · establi~hed a.quota policy tOr the s·election of.sirls into secondary schools and ·some ·areas of · tertiary education. Despite all this, the gender gap remains in the absolute number of chUdren enrolled in school, and girls continue to drop out of primary school earlier and in greater numbers than boys. 1.5 Literacy Despite significant increases in pupil numbers, high drop out rates in the early years of primary school have kept literacy levels low, particularly in rural areas and -2- among·~. Higher drop out rates for girls than for boys, and their much lower enrollmdtl the past have resulted in higher illiteracy rates among women than men. The nationalliWiey rate of the population group 10 years of age and older has improved from 18 per cent in 1977 to 27 per cent in 1987 (the Ministry of Community Semces' Adult Literacy Program has contributed significandy). However, the majority of women are still illiterate (83 per cent). 1.6 Access to education There are not enough primary schools to meet the need and the schools that are avaUable are not free. The schools that are available may be far away' overcrowded, W)der equipped, and sometimes irrelevant in the face of overwhelming family poverty. Very few of the poor in Malawi are able to send their dlildren to school. Many children begin work at very early ages and are not enrolled in school at all. They spend their time child mindin& their siblings, working on estates and farms, in family fields, with herds or on the lake (Bryant 1990). 1.7 Access and 1ender A report by USAID in 1990 (Constraints to Girls' Persistence in Primary School and Women's Employment Opportunities in the Education Service, 1990) states that while &iris enter primary school in about the same proportions as boys, reaional disparities exist, and dropout rates are higher among girls than boys, particularly in Standards 1 and in the upper Standards of primary school. Repetition rates are high, and multiple repetition is more prevalent among boys; reducin& the efficiency of the entire system. Such inefficiency operates to the greater disadvantage of girls, for whom the onset of adolescence is more likely to bring on competing responsibilities with the risk of early pregnancy, expectations of marriage, and initiation practices in the South and Central Re,ions. 1.8 Achievement and gender The presence of a great proportion of male repeaters may also distort the distribution of Primary School Leavins Certificate examination Scores, negatively affecting girls • chances of selection into secondary school. Low academic per:formance of girls in examinations has been linked elsewhere to gender-biased attitudes and context, especially in math and science subject areas. The evidence also indicates that girls are more likely than boys to perceive themselves as having limited chances of access to higher levels of education and to its rewards, as well as having limited knowledge of life options open to them. especially in tural areas where there are few educated women in formal sector positions. Many families see school as a place to prepare boys for entry into the modern economy. 1.9 Imd!ers as Role Models The teaching system is dominated by male teachers, this sends a sigmd that the school institution is not a place for girls, particularly in ·rural areas. Overall only 34 per cent of all primary school teachers are female. This proportion will not change in the near future. Only 35 per cent of all students at teacher training colleges are female. Most of the Teacher Training Colleges have twice the number of boarding spaces for males than females. · Structure of the Education System 1.10 The Ministry of Education and Culture is responsible for all non-private education. The system provides open access to eight years of non-compulsory primary education, ending with the Primary School Leaver's Certificate (PSLC) examination. Only 4 to S per cent of the school age population gains entry to secondary school. Secondary education is made up ·- 3- of two ~f junior secondary schooling after which the Junior Certificate of Education is award~.~~ are two more years after J.C. of senior secondary schooling, after which · successful ibduates receive the Malawi Certificate of Education (MCE). There are 36 · govemme.ut secondary schools, 24 government-aided schools and 16 private schools. The formal secondary system is supplemented by the Malawi College of Distance Education (MCDE) which offers open admission to studems who have beea awarded the PSLC. I~ II At the tertiary level there are two year teacher ttaiDiD&' pmsrams provided by trainina colleges, and three, four and five year courses of study leadJDa to diplomas and degrees in a number of fields. The University of Malawi has about 2,000 students emolled on its four campuses. The Ministry of Community Services run tbe pre-sdtool aDd Adult Literacy programs to complement the formal education system. The National adult literacy program (NALP) aims to cover two million adults over the decade, with priority targeting of women, out of work youths and young adults, and farmers (World ·sa HumaD Resource study 1990). Scbool Situation 1.12 Classrooms There is a serious shortage of classrooms, with a ratio of classrooms:pupils of 1:88. In the urban areas the classroom ratios can reach 1:120. As a reSult schools are often organized by double shifts. The common practice is to have Standards I to 4 arriving at 7:30 and leaving at 10:30 and standards S to 6 arriving at 10:00 and leaving at 1:30. The senior classes (Standard 7-8) mive at 7:30 and stay unti11:30 or later. Even with double shifts, many classes meet outside under shaded trees. The teacher:primary pupil ratio is 1:67. ·'· 1.'13 Furniture and books Fumiwre is very rare in classrooms. Students are·fommate if they have a desk by the time they reach standard 8, most learn 10 read and write with a book on their lap. Reading materials are limited in schools, and students generally are not allowed to take them home, to prevent wear and tear. In rum areas, reading materials are so nre sometimes even the teachers do not have books. Most homes do not bave any reading materials and . there are few libraries (USAID Constraints to girls persistence .1990). 1.14 Rural conditions Three quarters of Malawian women and girls live in rural areas. Pupils who attend rural schools are less likely to have female teachers as only 27 per cent of the rural teachers are female.as compared to 66'per cent in urban areas. Teachers in rural areas tend tg..be less qualified than those in urban areas and have fewer teaching materials. Rural pupifi· often do not change to English as the language of instruction until Standard 6 or later, but fM Primary Leaving examination in English. . ~tent of the Problem of DrQPout by Girls 1.15 "Jbe enrollment of girls in Standard 1 has improved over the years, and in 1988, 48 per cent of all Standard 1 pupils were girls (table I and figure 1). While this figure indicates nearly equal initial access of girls and boys to primary education, annual dropouts throughout the primary school system averaged 15 per cent for girls and 11 per cent for boys. The attrition rate between Standards 1 and 2 is substantially higher among girls: 29 per cent compared to 23 per cent for boys (figure 2 and table 2). The higher standards have also -4- lmllmr~eo:lem in girls representation over the yean, but enrollment fipres still show by gender. In 1988, sirls accounted for 44 per cern of tDtal Stmdard s but only 32 per cant of the standard 8 pupils (USAID study 1990 p.1). TABLE 1: Pruuu:y school •nro1l.Mnc. by gond.ar mel St.md.&rcl, 1980·1988 (~eistecl and ~•i•t•4 schoola) YEAR. STANDAIU) 1 STANDARD 5 STANDARJ) 8 Total J'a11!14le J' Total Feu1e ' r Total Fcule ' ' F 1980 232975 106430 45.7 64144 24645 38.4 65007• 16469 25.3 1981 234816 108691 46.3 61041. 23910 39.2 70661 18372 26.0 19~2 262361 121401 46.3 64515 25601 39.7 76457 20646 27.0 1983 236476 110375 46.7 66617 27383 41.1 79753 22571 28.3 1984 204200 95109 46.6 71545 29513 41.3 84861 24263 28.6 1985 238584 110091 46.1 72832 30325 41.6 86747 25813 29.8 1986 250741 118014 47.1 74956 31596 42.2 90366 27486 30.4 1987 265990 126622 47.6 78090 33572 43.0 97450 30097 30.9 1988 285075 135983 47.7 88139 38745 44.0 100911 32151 31.9 Source: KOEC Education Statistics 1980; 1981; 1982; 1983: 1984; 1985: 1986: 1987; 1988. { Primar-y scnoo 1_ enr-o I lment, 1980-88 :II = ... ., ; : '10 ~ '-t ;-------------..,:__...!...J -s .,, 'i , . -~+---~----~--~--~~--~--~ ..,. ..... ---~ a Cllrt• • ..,._ ripre 1 _ r~ 2 bnlllllal~ l!aue ~ Gend.r, UIO·UII Prf.aary School llcf.uca• ~t i£1\UII 111 S'l:lm!iilu:4 GIS 'by Gender, (S~•: !~~!Qa i~Cl~tice, ~IC, 1910·1981) 1911-lfllil (Scm:~rc•: Mt1e.at~_sucuc~ ...~~ .. ueo~'l'illlll'. _:.·.·... .. ~.:.r•. ••.• ·- --~ . ··:.·:· ":· n .2 ~ ~ c II\ 0 • . .. II\ 0 •..• • • N 1'\ N • • ... ...• • N II'\ • .. • 1'\ II" . • • • • • • 1'\ ~ "" q ~- • C) .. .. .., " illtl • D ~ • 0 ~ • A ...• II'! oe ., ...• ,.• til .q a• foP • it - u ...• "" N f'Q "' "' ·. ., ... N ~ • ~ •• A "' ~" ~i ... = = =• • • ~ • • • • ~ • "" "' l l ·nu don't want to m· 2.10 Many parents said their children (boys aDd ,eirls) left adlool because of lack of interest, and peer pressure to stay home and bang about, look after the animals, or make some l.llqney doing ganyu. Parents seemed to feel that it is not up to them to force their children to go to school. Several parents called the children to tell the investigatOr themselves why they had left school. The children explained that they wanted to stay home and play with their fril'nds •. Parents indicated that their only responsibility in ·the matter is to provide the school fees if the child wanted to· go to school. If the child decided to stay home, they could not force him or her. 2.11 This is quite contrary to most preconceptioos about paremal responsibility aad authority. However, in Malawian culture, a considerable distmce develops between parents and their grown up children, especially ~ose who have been formally initiated into adulthood. Initiated girls are considered adults, and are not supposed to live in the parents' bouse. Young "adults • who may be 8 to 13 years old, live with their peers in single-sex houses. Aunts and grandparents may have more inftuence than parents since the children are still allowed to be close to them. 2.12 The reason cited most often, and usually as the most compelling factor to iccount fur drop outs in Malawi is inability to pay school fem. In this study, only 21" said thelr daughters left school because of lack of school fees, less thm the 23" who pve reasons _ other than lack of school fees. This is much less than numerous papers on the subject in · Malawi, including Kainja (1990) and Matenso (1989) who found that 80" of the parents interviewed in Zomba district gave school fees as the reason their children dropped out·of school. Parents find it easy to say their children are not in school because they cannot afford to pay. But if one probes further, other reasons come up: "she lost interest• or •1 did not think she was learning anything her mother could not teach her•, or •1 did not want her to walk to school alone when her brothers started going to the afternoon school session•, "she became pregnant•, or •left because she wanted to get married•. Some parent may wish to send their cbildren to school and be unable to afford fees and other direct and indirect costs (and indeed many sell livestock and-other assets to keep children in school) but many bi this sample seem to consider school poor value for money, and allocate cash on higher priorities items. 2.13 Pubertj: Girls in the sample vUlages tended to start school very late, and to progress very slowly. The official starting age is six, but many children were said tO be.starting school at age ten or eleven. · Most of the girls ~ho were i1:1 school at this time were in standard 1 - 3, and were ten to twelve years old. Girls in standard one at age twelve are on the brink of puberty, and initiation and marriage are ~ent. Teenage pregnancy is a problem. Parents worry about their daughters g~g pregnant while still in school and not . being able to find a husband. Parents prefer to pull their daughters out of school after puberty and keep them safe at home. ... 2.14 ~ Parents also worry about the money they lose when a girl becomes pregnant. Ministry of Education and Culture insists that prepant schoolgirls are perman ~ txpelled from the formal school system. This policy has received much criticism from the main wo.meus' organizations in the country, Chitukuto Ola Amai M'Malawi 8Dd the National Commission of Women in Development, as bein& discriminatory and inappropriately punitive. (USAID Report 1990) The policy discouraps parents from seDdiDa Pis to school since they lose all the money they invest in the girl. Some respondeuts argued that one can rely more on boys stayin& on in school. If a boy gees a &id preznaat. he can stay in school if he d~es responsibility. 2.15 Achievement ami beliefs about mtitude Parents also argued that boys are aaturally more intelligent, and that girls find schoolwork more difficult, do not pass the government enminations as well as boys and are not inte:ested in school. Examination results show that boys out-perform girls in all subjects except housecraft and needlecraft, for which boys are not examined. The gender differences are quite large: two-thirds of a standard deviation for science and the general paper and one-third of a standard deviation for English and arithmetic. Ooly for Chichewa was the gender difference illsignificant in the 1987 Primary School Leaving Enminatit>n. (World Bank, Malawi Human Resource Development Study 1990 p. 76) Three mothers compared a boy's determination to persist at domg·something to a lion. They said boys were like lions but girls lacked the spirit needed to stay on in school. 2.16 HouseiJold COIQpOSition and size seems to have an impact on whether girls atteaded school. Parents who had sons, especially if the first- mxl second-born were boys, did DOt feel they needed to educate the girls who came after the boys. They felt that the boys should JO to school, get jobs and look after their sisters. Girls had a better cbance of being educated if they did not have brothers. Parents who only had daupters or whose sons were yoUDger than the girls felt that the girls needed to learn to read 8Dd write. An exception was a mother in Mulanje who had six chldren, all. of them girls, five of whom were in school, one in standard six. The girls were living with their father on a tea estate. Asked why all her daughters were in school, she reported that she and her husband had tried many times to have a son and had failed, so now her husblnd had accepted that the girls are the only children they wlll ever have and decided to bring the girls up as boys, so that they could take care of him in old age. 2.17 Several mothers said they had asked their teenage daughters to leave school to give the younger ones a chance to ~ for a few years too. One woman did not see any sense in having all !!children in school. All they needed, she said, was one person in the family · who could :· personal and official (Makalata akuboma) letters for everybody. She said that it was inco · · ·ent to have to send a message to her brother to come and read letters for her, so she would like one of her own children to be able to read and write. 2.18 One mother pointed out that all that her dau&}lter needed to learn she could teach her at hoine but since the boy ·wanted to Iea.ni to read and write and she herself could noi read and write she felt he should go to school and his sister should stay home and learn housekeeping. Mothers also felt that the boys will one day travel far from home and they will need to be able to read and write, but they ·do ·oot expect their daughters ever to travel far from home. -II- 2.19 Wben parents of children who were still in school were asked who decided child stay in school, for boys, 21 S said the child alone decided to stay, 18 S said the decided and only 3 S of the parents said both mother aDd father decided. In the case of girls, 26S said that the girl was still in school because it was she herself wanted (the other 58S gave no auswer or the question did not apply). 'Ibis is quite different from amwers about the decision to eoroll children in school, which was said to be the father's decision, or an uncle or a brother. This is more consistent with women's answers about reasons why they themselves bad not been to school; several said that their male relatives had not sent them. They would say, my brother did not send me to sdlool or my father did not have the money to seod me to school. Labor demand.l 2.20 Boys are much less in demand to do household· chores than girls. Some mothers said they liked to get their sons out of the way (•the boys would demaad to be fed if they were home all day•) but they needed the help of the girls to prepare food, etc. Some explained that they bad decided to pull their daughters from school as a temporary measure; when the . demand for. their services around the home was reduced, they would be able to ao bact and continue where they left off. The mothers rotate the children so that they always have some at home to run errands (ndizimutuma nchere). ' 2.21 All girls- whether attending school or not- speod time doing household tasks: goiJJ& to the river to draw water, looking for firewood and preparing food. But lids who had dropped out of school did more and worked longer boun. These girls helped with all the household chores, but also spent most of the day with their mothers wortmg in the prdea•.·. · Employment Ojmortunitjes 2.22 The labor market opportunites and implicit or explicit entry barriers are obstacles to . education for girls. Boys get part ~e work and regular jobs more readily than girls. · Women in low-wage (entry level) jobs have much higher educational levels than men in similar jobs, and women are clustered in low-paying occupations. This pattern sends a string economic signals to parents, who report that they do not know what education will do for · their daughters. 2.23 All of the girls who had left were reported to spend their time working in the garden, drawing W'SJ~j. looking after siblinp and cooking. Thirty-six percent of the boys who left school r school attendance of girls - at least in some areas in southern and central Malawi • and needs more careful understanding, if policies and porjects are to ·be devised to increase enrolment of girls at schools. Furthermore, initiation instruction offers a · potentially valuable opportunity for reacbinc large numbers of young women, through credible sources, with information about family planning and preventing HIV infection. ~- m. EOLJCY IMPUCATIQNS 3.1 . ~ent and donors have long grappled with ways to increase educational enrollmeDtiDd achievement of girls. The National Commission on Women in Development (NCWID) has taken a particular interest in the education of girls, and Chitukuko Cha A.mai M'Malawi is a potentially powerful lobby aroup and implementation netWork. The loqlist of policy recommendations from the 1990 workshop held in Malawi by NCWJD, MOEC aDd USAID are attached as Annex 3. Amon& the donors, the World Bank and USAJD have takea the lead. Female enrolment quotas wue set in early Bank projects, and considerable investments have been made in increasing overall access and quality improvements. USAID's recent project includes· studies, scholarships for girls to enable them to complete primal.')r school, and support to the MOEC to develop gender-sensitive learning materials. 3.2 This final section of the paper concentrates on policy implications of the study findings that are likely to be novel to most readers.· No attempt is made to discuss policies comprehensively or to prioritize or guess the relative cost-effectlveness of various interventions. There is little that the education system can do about the large and thorny problems that make the cost/benefit ratio of educating girls unattractive for parents. The education system may be able to reduce some of the direct and indirect costs a little (fees, books, transport costs), but cannot redu~ the opportunity cost of girls' labor. Direct benefit~' can be substantially improved by improving teachin&, curricula and learning achievements, · but the education system is powerless to affect overall employment prosped:S, the main determinant of the economic return to education. Several of the ftndinp of this study point to these larger challenges of development; the paragraphs that follow look at the more modest things that can be acted upon. 3.3 Communities should be given more information about the· benefits of education for· girls, in particular, the impact this can have on the health and·welfare of their children. Policy makers could use local information meetings to promote the awareness of the importance and benefits of education. Chitukuko Cha Amai could help with this. These discussions should also try and encourage parents to give their pre-pubescent daughters as much education as possible, by enrolling them· in school at age six (many children enrol inuch later). This would be one small input towards changing parents' attitudes and encouraging parents to take responsibility for enrolling their children in school and keeping them in school. Previous studies have shown that expandin,g access by building more schools, relaxing admission policies or instituting quotas for female students may lead to higher levels of f~male . .Um.ent at the margin, but these strategies are not enough where family demand for girls' ~on is low. Increased access needs to be accompanied by demand creation• . ~ 3.4 Village chiefs wield considerable influence, and should be encouraged to help improve participation of girls in school. At least in the pilot study vlllages, chiefs put pressure on parents to -initiate their chQdren, perhaps partly motivated by the payment they get fo~ each .. child who is initiated. The government could consider giving chiefs an incentive to help promote education of girls. 3.5 Enlist the support of fathers (and other men) more, since they seem to play a crucial role in decisions about their children's participation in school. Respondents reported that fathers or other male relatives had the final say on enrollment their children in school. This· makes it important to target men in efforts to enlist parental support. The study also suggests -16- that p~ little to encourage or insist that girls stay in school when the girls themselves wish to ~- If this is the case, this is an important issue to discuss with parents, and try to chanp. ""...~<' 3.6 The school uniform for girls is much more expensive (about MK12.00) than for boys (MK.4.00), because boys need only a school shirt. whereas &iris must have a repladon dress. A school uniform subsidy for girls might affect the decision of some parents, at the marJin. 3.7 If indeed children themselves decide whether to stay on in school or leave, then it is importaDt to target children themselves to improve their motivation to stay on at school. There are several ways to try and do this: (a) expose &iris and young women to positive role models of educated and successful women, enlisting help from the various womens' organisations in Malawi, arranging visits to schools, and reviewing carefully the ·people encountered in text books and the school syllabus; (b) improvements in tbe learning environment wlll help, and teachers should be trained and asked to give plenty of encouragement and positive feedback to girls especially; and (e) group and peer counseling, including focusing on the benefits of education, might help motivate girls more. 3.8 If, as the study suggests, initiations are widely practiced and parent have a very positive attitude towards them and strong sense of obligation to initiate their daughters, then the MOE should consldei" working with gu.ardhws and lnltiation teacben (118111ampi), accepting and showing a positive attitude to their role as •traditional family life• teachers, aDd enlisting their support and help in finding ways to ensure that girls continue their formal education after initiation. · • 17- IV. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS OF MAIN SDJDY 4.1 In the main study, which took place in December 1990 to January 1991, 112 mothers from Mulanje, Mangochi, Zomba, Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu districts were interviewed. 1be primary language of the respondents was: Yao so~. Chichewa 26~, Chitumbuka 19~, Chinyanja 8 ~ and other 8S. Seventy five percent were CluistiaD, 34 S Muslim, .and 2 ~ other. Religion did not seem to influence attitudes - there were no significant differences between Muslim and Christian respondents. Most (42 S) were married to the first spouse, 21 S were divorCed and 38% were married to a second spouse. 'Ibe respondents in the main study sample bad a similar educational distribution as those in the pilot study. Twice as many female guardians as male guardians had no education. Many of the mothers who argued that girls did not need an education (but that it was useful for boys to go to school), partly because there were jobs for boys but not girls had not attended school and had never held a wage job themselves. 4.2 The main study confirmed the impression· gained during the pilot that the decision to leave school or to stay in school was mainly being made by the children themselves. Parents did not seem to be encouraging· their children to stay in school. Several said: •ne child decided he did not want to go to school anymore, so what could I do about it?•. When parents were asked who decided that the girl would leave school, 24S said the child alone decided, 14~ said the mother, SS said the father, and 3~ said the mother md father decided together. ('The rest did not answer or the question did not apply). 'Ibis is quite different from initiations, where child typically are not given a choice; parer.ds are insistent that they participate. 4.3 Parents' views about the ideal educational attainment level differed between their daughters and sons. The same answers as given in the pilot study came up: mothers said that their daughters only needed to stay in school long enough to be able to read bus signs, but their sons would travel far from home to look for jobs and so needed more years of schooling. Mothers said they wanted their sons to go to secondary school, but they thought it was a waste of time for girls to tty and attain that standard because they would either get · pregnant or fail the standard eight examinations. Parents in both the pilot and the main study also thought boys were more intelligence ~an girls. As in the pilot; if a girl is the oldest child, and a fortiori, bas no brothers. she has a much higher chance of going to school. 'Ibe mothers felt strongly that every family needs to have one member who is literate so that she or he can read letters from the government for them. · · 4.4 In both studies, mothers acknowledged making heavier demands on their daughters labor time than sons. Mothers argued that if girls do not learn to do the domestic chores, their husbands' families will reject them and it will reflect badly on them as parents, while· they did not have the same pressure wh.en it came to bop. The mothers admitted that they · did not hesitate to ask their daughters to stay home and help with the housework but they felt that boys would just get in the way at home. Both studies documented that girls spend more time after school and during the time they should be in school in domestic labor than boys. 4.5 When mothers in Mangochi were asked what they did not like about school and why they preferred initiations to school, they explained that at the initiation the girls are with • 18- it is a happy time for everybody involved. The mothers did not like the to their children at school, or the non-educational activitites students are required They feel that these do not help their children learn. Traditionally, after initiation, children are considered adults and are not given humiliating punishments. Schools persist in treating them as children by administering corporal punishment and beating pupils in front of their peers. This complaint was echoed by parents in the north, some of whom said that their children spent more time in school doing punishments than learni.Dg. M()thers in Blantyre also complained that the schools do not allow their daughters to braid hair or pierce their ears. Many schools require students to work on the schoot•s self-help projects - foi: example, teachers' houses need to be re-tbatched every year, and rebuilt from time. to time. 4.6 The main study probed more about initiatiations than the pilot had done. Most parents (80~) said that they had nothing against their daughters going bact to school after initiation, but that most girls married very soon after initiation and so do not return to school. Some communities have a very low marriage age, and it is not acceptable for a girl to refuse an offer. Communities differ in such customs, including the type of initiation practiced: the most popular pre-puberty initiations are Chiputu (52~) and Nsondo (40S), the latter beiDa predominant in the Moslem area of Mangochi. A minority 3.SS bad been initiakd in church. The most popular post-puberty initiation was Litiwo (78S ).~/ 'lbe attitudes of mothers towards this traditional schooling was confirmed in this second study. 1bey felt that their daughters would not be able to fit in the community if they missed this important part of their education and that their sons would not be men if they were not initiated. ~I Initiations may be held at three stages in a woman's life: ·prepuberty, post-puberty, . and after the birth of a first child (Litiwo). In the Yao villages around Blantyre, Mulanje, Mangochi and Zomba, women cannot attend childbirths and funerals unless they have been initiated into Litiwo. • • •- .,. •~ ~ • ~ • • ••• • ,••• •• • ,-- ••• • - - •-:r•w .•· - •- ~ '""-_>.-"'":"'. ;. -- . . • 19- BIBIOGRAPHY Abgi. H. (1989) Solving the Mystery Qf the Unreported Trainees: Non-formal Education for Women in Latin America and the Caribbean. Adams. M. (1986) •some Issues of Access and Equity in the Education of African Females: Progress and Prospects •, Women In Intematio~ Development. Michipn State University, ·1986. Adams. F. M. (1980) "Early Education for Girls: A Priority for Literacy. • Prepared for the Office of Women in Development, U.S. Agency for International Development. Adams. M. and Knumenbad, S. "Gender and Access in the African school•, International Review of Education, 33:457-63. Anderson, M. (1988) "Improving Access in Schooling in the Third World: An Overview, 1988 Harvard University, Massachusetts. Assie. N. (1983) "Educational Seiection and Social Inequality in Africa", Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Chicago, Chicago. Barbee. E. "General Education Versus Special Education for Rural Development•, Comparative Education Review, 29:216-231. Be.dri. N. and Burchinal L. "Educational Attainment as an Indicator of the Status ·.of Women in the Sudan", The Ahfad Journal, 2:30-38. ;:~ Berstecber. D. (1972) Wastage in Primary Education: Comparative Look at Three Developing Countries. Comparative Education, 8(2):75-84. Biazen. A. and Junge, B. "ProblemS in Primary School Participation and Performance in · Bahir Dar A wraja", Report prepared for UNICEF and Ministry of Education, Addis Ababa, ·Ethiopia. Birdsall. N. (1985) Public Inputs and Child schooling in Brazil. Journal of Development Economics, 18:67-86. . - Bowman. M.J .. & Anderson. C. A. (1980) The participation of Women in Education in the Third World. Comparative Education Review, 24, (2), S13-S32. Brenner. M. (1982) "Student Attitudes and School Attendance in Liberia." Paper presented at the American Anthropology Association Meeting, Washington D.C., 1982.· . . . . Brimer. M.A .. and Pauli. L. (1971) Wastage iri Education: A World Problem, Paris, UNESCO. . Brown. B. "Girls' Achievement in School in BOtswana", Botswana Notes and Records, 12/1. .. 20. ~g in People, World Bank Lending For Human Resource Development in Malawi. ·· -· Bustillo. I. (1989) Female Education Attainment In Latin America, Washington D.C., The World BaDk Caldwell. J .. Reddy ..!. (1985) Educational Transition in Rural South India. Population and Development Review, 11(1). Cbamie. M. (1983) "National, Institutional and Household Factors Affecting Young Girls' School Attendance in· Developing Countries", International Center for Research on Women and USAID, Washington, D.C. Cbemjcbovsky. D. (1985) Socioeconomic and Demographic aspects of School Environment and Attendance in Rural Botswana, Economic Development and Cultural Change, 33:319- 332. Cbemjchovsky. D .. & Meesook. 0. School Borollment in Indonesia, Staff Workina Paper No. 746, Washington D.C., The World Bank. ClMt. C. (1981) Children's Economic Activity and Primary School Attendance in Guatemala, Santa Monica, The Rand Corporation. · Cochrane. S.. Mebra. K. & Qsbeba. I. (1985) The Educational Participation of Egyptian Children, Washington, D.C., The World Bank. Court. D. (1975) "Education as Social Control: The Response to Inequality in Kenya and Tanzania. • Discussion Paper No. 217, Institute of Development Studies, University of Nairobi, Nairobi. Csapo. M. (1981) "Religious, Social and Economic Factors Hindering the Education of Girls in Northern Nigeria", Comparative Education, 17/3:311-319. DaJI. F. (1989) "A problem of Gender Access and Primary Education: A Mali case study, "Cambridge. Mass .• Harvard Institute for International Development Research Review 11(4). . . Dayico. M~ (1982) A Consideration ofln_School Factors which may contribute to the High Rate of Rep.ters and Dropouts in Brazilian Elementary Schools: A Comparative Regional Study. Ph:&. dissertation. Vanderbilt University. George Peabody College for Teachers. Davison. J. (1984) "Myths and Realities: A Study of Parental Attitudes Toward Education for Females in Kenya", Paper presented to the Education Department Seminar, Basic Education Center, Kenyatta Unive,rsity. ·Nairobi. · Dorsey. B. (1989) "Socialization, Gender, Academic Achievement and Aspiration of Secondary School pupils in Zimbabwe• Human Resources Research Center, University of · Zimbabwe, Harare. Duncan. W. Botwana, in International Handbook ofWomeos' Education, New York. 1989. .. -21 .. (1981) Aspiratioas of Kenyan Schoolgirls in Regard to Educational Training Occupation and Career, Bureau of Educational Research, Kenyatta University, Flore. M. and Wolf. J. (1990) The Economic and Social Impacts of Girls Primary Education in Developing Countries, Washington DC. U.S.A.I.D. Haddad. W. (1978) Educational Effects of Class Size. Staff WorkiDJ Paper No. 280. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank. Hartley. M. & Swanson.E. (1984) Achievement and Wastage: AD ADalysis of the Retention of Basic Skills in Primary Education. Washington, D.C.: The World Balik. Heyneman. S. (1976) Influences on Academic Achievement: A Comparison of Results from Uganda and More Industrialized Societies. Sociolou of Education, 49(3),20Q-211 (pages) Hyde. K. (1989) Improving women Education In SubSaharan Africa. A Review of the · Literature. Washington D~C.: The World Bank. Jamison. D. T .. & Lockheed. M. (1985). ed Participation In Schooling: Determinants and Learning Outcomes in Nepal. Washington, D.C., The World Bank. Ki)yati. E. (1984) The National Commission For Women In Malawi. Kelly. G. P. (1975) •setting State Policy on Women's Education in the Third World: Perspectives from Comparative Research, West Africa 95-102. Kelly. G. (1989) International Handbook Of Women's Education Green wood press, New York. Kelly. G. and Lulat. y, (1980) "Women and Schooling in the Third World: A Bibliography. • Comparative Education Review, 24/2:224--263. King.· E. (1990) Educating Girls and Women: Investing in Development, The World Bank, Washington D.C. King. E.~11981) "Child Schooling and Time Allocation in Philippine Rural Households. • ·Paper pr~ at the Population Association of American meetings, Washington, D.C. King. U. (1987) "World Religions, Women and Education", Comparative Education, 23/1. Khan. S,B,., (1989) Barriers to Female Education in South Asia. WashingtOn D.C.: The · · World Bank.. :· ·- · - .· · Kirui. P.M. (1982) A Study of the Factors thatlntluence the Increasing Repetition and Dropout Rates in Primary Schools in Nandi District of Kenya. Nairobi: African Curriculum Organization and Kenya Institute of Education. ·· ~~Mca.o.~.~.· Women's Presence in Arab Higher Education: Linking School, and Social Roles. The World Bank, Washington, D.C. 1989. Lembert. M. (1985) The Impact of Mothers' Beliefs, Expectations, and Attributions on children's Primary School Dropout: A Study of Low Socioecooomic Status Families in Urban Mexico. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Stanford: School of EDucation. LeVine. R. (1980) "Influence of Women's Schooling on Material Behavior in the Third World. • Comparative Education Review, 24/1. Levy. M. (1971) Determinants of Primary School Dropouts in Developing Countries. Comparative Education Review, 15(1), 44-58. Lockheed. M. and Vespoor. A. (1989) "Improving Primary Education in Developing Countries: A Review of Policy Options•, World Bank, Washington D.C. Malawi. Report of a Workshop on Increasing Access of Girls and Women in Education and Training opportunities in Malawi. July, 1990. Malek;ela. G. A. (1983) Access to second~ education in Sub-Saharan Africa: The TaD7.aoia Experiment. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Chicago. McSweeney. B.and Freedman, M. (1980) "Lack of Time as an Obstacle to Women's Education: The Case of Upper Volta. • Comparative Education Review, 24/2. N&ay. A. (1983) An assessment of Educational Inequality in the Ivorian Primary Schools. Stanford: Stanford University Ph.D. dissertation. Nlcigyangi. J. (1980) Socioeconomic Determinants of Repetition and early Withdrawal at the primary School level and their Implications for Educational Planning in Kenya, Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Stanford University. Nkinyangi. J. (1982) Access to Primary Education in Kenya: The contradictions of Public Policy, Comparative Education Review, Vol. 26. Nmira. N. (1988) Sectoral Analysis of the Programs and Policies Affecting the status of of Women in Malawi. Center for Social Research, University Malawi. Zomba .. Qmbuloye. 0. (1987) "Values and Costs of Daughters and Sons to Yoruba Mothers and Fathers", in Sex Roles, Population and Development in West Africa, (ed) Oppong C., London, Heinemann• . · fiW, (1989) ·Review of Literature on Nonfonnal Educati_on of Women in Selected Countries in South and Southeast Asia. · Satilios-Rothscbild. C. (1979) "Access of Rural Girls to Primary Education in the Third World: State of Art, Obstacles, and Policy Recommendations. • Office of Women in Development, USAID, Washington D.C. -23-. SanKJli* (1983) Academic Achievement, School Quality mel Family Background.· Smdy in. Seven American Countries. Paper presented at the Comparative and International Education SOciety Conference, Atlanta, GA. Scbiefe)bein. E .. & Faae)l. J. (1980) Women, Schooling, and Wort in Chlle: Evidence from a Longibldinal study. Comparative Education Review 24(2), S160-S179. Scllultz..(1989) Returns to Womeos' Education. Smock. A. C., (1981) Women's Education in Developing Countries: Opportunities aDd Outcomes. Praegar, New York. · · StromQuist. N. P., (1987) School -Related Determinants of Female Primary School Participation and Achievement in Developing Countries: An Armotated Bibliography. Washington D.C.: The World Bank. Sudarkasa. N. (1982) "Sex Roles, Education and Development in Africa•, Anthropology and Education Quarterly 13(3):279-289. · Tembo. L. Men and Women in School Textbooks: A National Survey_ of Sex Bi~ in Zambian Textbooks in Primary and Junior Secondary Schools and Their Implications for Education in Zambia. Lusaka, UNESCO. Iillka J. (1989) Review of Growth, Problems aDd Possible I>etennimmts of Female Schooliq in East Asia. US AID Report of the Ministry of Education and Culture and USAID Malawi, COnsttaints to Girls' Persistence in Primary School and Womens' Employment Opportunities in the Education Service. Waweru. J.M. (1982) "Socio-Economic Background as an Influence Factor in Pupils' Achievement in Primary schools in Embu District, Kenya•, African Studies in Curriculum Development and Evaluation, No. 69, African Curriculum Organization, Kenya Institute of Education. Weis, L, (1919) "Education .and the Reproduction of Inequality: The Case of Ghana, Comparanv. Education Review, pp.41-Sl. ..:,. Winter. C, (1984) "The provision of Appropriate Education in Selected Southern African Countries: Malawi, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and the "Independent Homelands", Paper presented at the International Conference on Education in the 90'$: "Equality and Excellence in Education". Wirick. D. (1977) Primary School Dropouts in Northeast Thailand: A Study of Student, Parent, and Teacher Attitudes, Unpublished Ph.D .. dissertation, Bloomington: Indiana University. World Bank (1989) Education in Sub-Saharan Africa, Policies for Adjustment, Revitalization, and Expansion, A World Bank Policy Study, Washington D.C. -24- World BI!IJI1990) Malawi Human Resource Development Study, AF6PH. -· World Bank (1991) Women and Development in Malawi: Constraints and actions, AF6PH. Youssef. Nadja H. (1976) •Education and Female Modernization in the Muslim Wortd•, Journal of International Affairs, 30/2:191-205. -25- • ANNEX 1 Page 1 of4 "·- DECEMBER 1989 - Pll..OT SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE 1. Respondent• name 2. Respondents sex 3. Date of interview 4. Place of interview Demographic questions 1. What language do you speak? 2. What other language do you speak? 3. What religion do you belong to7 4. If Christian or Moslem, what group do you belong to? S. How many people live in your household all year long? 6. Please give the name, age, and sex of each person in your household? 7. Are there other members of the household who live outside the home? 8. Please give their names and ages and say what they do? 9. How do you earn your money? 10. Do you have a regular job or do you go for ganyu? 11. What )ind of g~nyu or work specify ~- 12. Who ~-your household goes to the market to sell the produce? 13. What kind of produce do you sale? . 14. Who ·farms the land? 15·. Do you own cattle? If so, How wy? 16. Do you own goats? If so, How many? 17. Does your house have glass windows? 18. How far is the primary school from your house? ,;!#.· Pqe 2 of4 ~ 19. Bow far i1 the community Center from your house? 20. Bow tar is the Post office from your house? 21. Who is the most important contributor to the household? Please give name and relation to household (e.g. respondents uncle, respondents brother). 22. Does anyone else make a financial contribution to the household? If so, who and what is his/her relationship to the household? 23. Which was the highest level of School you attended? 24. Are you able to read? For example, can you read a letter someone has written to you? 25. Are you able to write? can you write a letter? 26. Which was the highest level of School your spouse attended? 27. Is your spouse able to write? For example, can your spouse read a letter someone has written to him/her? 28. Is your spouse· able to write? can your Spouse write a letter or read a letter someone has written to him? DECISICfPKOCESS IEGARDI~G LEAVING/STAYING 29. For ~ch of your Children please give the following info~tion: Bow old was she/he when he/she started school Which grade&, if any, did he/she repeat? When did he/she leave school 30. Sources of money for School fees for each child (relationahip to source) -27- Page 3 of4 QUESTIONS ABOUT ONE BOY WHO HAS LEFT AND ONE GIRL WHO HAS LEFT SCHOOL 31. Por each child who has left schoolz Why did she/he leave? 32. What are the three most important tasks that consume her or his. time? 33. Which household members are involved in making the dicision for him/her to leave? 34. What reasons did these people give in favour of leaving?.Be sure to get respondents view about what is benefit of leaving 35. Who made the Final decision for her/him to leave? QUESTIONS ABOUT A GIRL 'WHO HAS STAYED IN SCHOOL AND .A BOY WHO HAS STAYED 36. For each child who has not left school: Why has this child not left school? 37. Which household members are involved in making the decision for him/her to stay? 38. what reasons did each of these people give in favor of staying? (Be sure to get the respondents views about what is benefit of staying) 39. Who ~~ the most say in deciding how much money should be spent on School fees and supplies? 40. What are the three tasks that take up most of her time? 41. What took up her time the past 3 days? 42. Which household members are involved in making the decis~on about how much money should be spent on school fees and supplies? 43. Who has the most say in deciding how much money should be spent on school fees and supplies? .. • 28. 44. Bow .uch money is spent per child for fees Page 4 of4 boo,. pencils School unifoz:m eztra money 45. OverAll, how important do you think schooling is for your ~aughters? 46. Overall, how important do you think schooling is for your son? 47. Bow satisfied are you with your childrens amount of education? 48. What obligations do you expect from them when they finish school? IHITIAt'IOil 49. Are you initiated? SO. What were the benefits to you 1 51. What were the negative aspects of being initiated? 52. What kind of initiation? 53. Bow much money did you spend? 54. Are you expecting all of your children to be initiated? 55. What are the benefits of initiation for girls these days? 56. How will the girls change after initiation? 57. What are the negative aspects of initiation for girls these days? 58. what ~e the benefits of initiation for boys these days? dt: .. 59. what ~e the negative aspects of initiation for boys these days? 60. Do you want your daughters to go back to school after initiation? Why or Why- not? 61. Do you think your daughters will want to go back to school after initiation (or, if they already have been initiated, did they want to return to school afterwards)? Why or Why not? 62. Bow many books do you have in the house? 63. Bow do you get your _drinking water? Tap, Vell or River . .... , - ... - ... .·.·· ' .. -:: ·. ~ - ~ -· I . • -29- ... ~ DECEMBER 1990- MAIN SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE ANNEX2 PARENTAL ATnTUDES TOWARD GIRL'S SCHOOUNG IN MALAWI l.SEX MALE FEMALE 2. PLACE OF INTERVIEW LILONGWE MANGOCHI MULANJE RUMPHI 3. WHAT IS YOUR PRIMARY LANGUAGE? 4. WHAT IS YOUR SECONDARY LANG? CHICHEWA CRICHEWA CHINYANJA CHINYANJA CHIYAO CHIYAO CHITUMBUKA CHITUMBUKA OTHER CHILOMWE CHIMUHAVANI YAO NOT APPLICABLE OTHER S. WHAT IS YOUR RELIGION? CHRISTIAN MUSLIM OTHER 6. WHAT IS YOUR RELIGIOUS DENOMINATION? . AFRICAN - DUTCH·REFORM NONE CCAP BAPTIST ROMAN CATHOLIC SUNNI ANGLICAN -.- PIM SHIA - - · OTHER 6. WHAT IS YOUR MARITAL STATUS? MARRIED TO 1ST SPOUSE -.- NO APPLICABLE _ DIVORCED, LMNG ALONE MARRIED TO 2ND SPOUSE -30- PLEASE pn YES OR NO TO ALL QUESTIONS: STATEMENT YES NO NOT APPLICABLE 7. DOES YOUR HUSBAND DO GANYU? 8." DOES YOU HUSBAND WORK IN GARDEN? 9. DOES YOUR HUSBAND SELL PRODUCE? 10. DOES YOUR HUSBAND GO FISHING 11. DOES YOUR HUSBAND HAVE PART TIME JOB? 12. DOES YOUR WIFE DO GANYU? 13. DOES YOUR WIFE WORK IN GARDEN 14. DOES YOUR WIFE SELL PRODUCE lS. DOES YOUR WIFE SELL FISHING? 16. DOES YOUR WIFE HAVE PART TIME JOB? 17. DOES YOUR WIFE SELL KACHASU 18. WHAT KIND OF GANYU DO YOU DO GARDENING KAPALEPALE DRAWING WATER CONSTRUCTION OTHER 19. WHO WORKS IN GARDEN? _ _ MOTHER ONLY _ _ MOTHER AND FATHER FATHER - - TIIEWHOLEFAMILY .:~ OTHER ~ NOT APPLICABLE 20. DOES YOUR HOUSE HAVE GLASS WINDOWS? YES NO -- 21.WHAT IS YOUR WIFE'S LEVEL OF SCHOOLING? YEARS I DON'T KNOW 22. WHAT IS YOUR HUSBAND'S LEVEL OF SCHOOLING? • 31 - I DON'T KNOW ~ PLEASE~ ALL INFORMATION THAT APPLIES TO EACH CHILD: CHn.D IN SCHOOL· AGE WHEN STARTED HIGHEST STANDARD TIMES NUMBER SCHOOL AITENDED REPEATED 23. CHILD 1 24. CHR.D 2 2S. CHR.D 3 '26. CHU..D 4 27. CHILDS ·28. CHR.D 6 QUESTIONS RELATED TO ONE CHILD WHO HAS LEFI' SCHOOL. PLEASE ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS: STATEMENT YES NO DO NOT NOT KNOW APPLICABLE . BOY LEFr SCHOOL BECAUSE: 29. NOT ABLE TO PAY THE FEES 30. HE IS NOT INTERESTED IN SCHOOL 31. HE IS NEEDED AT HOME 32. HE GOT MARRIED 33. HE SHOULD DO GARDENING AND . 34. TAKING CARE OF ANIMALS 3S. WHAT liBOY'S TASK? . -ocfGANYU - HAt PART TIME JOB - HAS REGULAR JOB .36. WHO DECIDED THAT THE BOY SHOULD LEAVE SCHOOL? (ANSwER ONE} . CHILD ALONE . · . JUST MOTHER OTHER NOT APPLICABLE 37. HAS THE BOY BENEFII"l'ED FROM LEAVING SCHOOL? • 32- - YEI. NO DONOTKNOW NOT APPLICABLE 38. HAS THE BOY BENEFITED BY SAVING MONEY THROUGH LEAVING SCHOOL? YES NO DO NOT KNOW NOT APPLICABLE 39. WHO FINALLY DECIDES FOR THE BOY TO LEAVB SCHOOL? (ANSWER. ONE) CHILD ALONE JUST MOTHER OTHER NOT ~PLICABLE QUESTIONS REGARDING ONE GIRL WHO LEFr SCHOOL? STATEMENT YES NO DONT KNOW NOT APPLICABLE GIRL LEFI' SCHOOL BECAUSE: 41. NOT ABLE TO PAY FEES 42. SHE IS NOT INTERESTED IN SCHOOL 43. SHE IS NEEDED AT HOME 44. SHE GOT MARRIED WHAT IS GIRL'S TASK? 4S. -DO HOUSEWORK/CLEANING 46• ..OARDENING 47. -DRAWING WATER 48. -COOKING 49. -TAKE CARE OF SIBLINGS SO. WHO DECIDED THAT THE GIRL SHOULD LEAVE SCHOOL? (ANSWER ONE) · CHILD ALONE FATHER ALONE FATHER AND MOTHER JUST MOTHER NOT APPLICABLE St. HAS THE GIRL BENEFITI'ED FROM LEAVING SCHOOL? _YES _NO _DO NOT KNOW _NOT APPLICABLE S2. HAS THE GIRL BENEFriTED BY SAVING MONEY THROUGH LEAVING SCHOOL? _YES. _NO· _DO NOT KNOW _.NOT APPLICABLE 53. WHO.FINALLY DECIDED THAT THE GIRL LEAVE SCHOOL? (ANSWER ONE) _ _CHILD ALONE _FATHER ALONE _FATHER AND MOTHER _ _JUST MOTHER _ _OTHER • 33. ONE BOY AND ONE GIRL WHO HAVE STAYED IN SCHOOL. ALL QUESTIONS: STATEMENT YES NO DONT KNOW NOT APPUC BOY STAYS IN SCHOOL: S4.· -PAmER WANTS 55. -TO LEARN READ AND WRITE S6.- -TO BECOME WISER. 57. -CHD.J) WANTS 58. -MOTHER WANTS 59. WHO MADE THE DECISION FOR THE BOY T() STAY IN SCHOOL? (ANSWER. ONE) CHILD ALONE FATHER ALONE FATHER AND MOTHER DO NOT KNOW NOT APPLICABLE OTHER 60. WHO HAS THE MOST SAY FOR BOY TO STAY IN SCHOOL? (ANSWER ONE) CHILD . FATHER MOTHER DONOTKNOW NOT APPLICABLE OTHER .STATEMENT YES NO OONT KNOW NOT APPUC 61. WHAT DOES THE BOY WHO LEFT SCHOOL DO? -GARDENING . -GANYU -PART TIME JOB -REG. JOB 62. GIRL stAYS IN SCHOOL: -FATHER WANTS -TO LEARN READ AND WRITE -TO BECOME WISER -CHll..D WAN"fS -MOTHER WANTS ~ ._ ,.-··,·, • • <•~ •• or •'·'•: ,, ,·~- -~., •,~ ',, ~ '•'' ••, c•o•-;•••p•~·~·.•·.:~~:., .. ,.,,,WO:: • , ~ 0 • 34- 63. WHO litADE THE DECISION FOR THE GIRL TO STAY IN SCHOOL? (ANSWER ONE) '~ · CliiLD ALONE -FATHER ALONE FATHER AND MOTHER JUST MOTHER DO NOT KNOW _NOT APPUCABLE _OTHER 64. WHO HAS THE MOST SAY FOR GIRL TO STAY IN SCHOOL? (ANSWER ONE) _CHD..D _FATHER _MOTHER _BROTHER OF CHD..D ~DO NOT KNOW _NOT APPLICABLE _OTHER WHAT DOES THE GIRL WHO STAYS IN SCHOOL DO? 65. -HOUSE WORK 66. -GARDENING 67. -DRAWING WATER 68. -cOOKING 69. -TAKING CARE OF SIBUNG wrm YOUR CHD..DRENS EDUCATION 70. ARE YOU SATISFIED _YES _NO _DONOTKNOW STATEMENT YES NO DONT KNOW NOT APPUC 71. CHD..DREN OBLIGATED TO GIVE GIFI'S 72. CHU..DREN OBLIGATED TO EDUCATE SmLINGS 73. CHILDREN OBLIGATED TO BUD..D A HOUSE 74. CHILDREN OBLIGATED TO BUD..D HOUSE 75. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF INITIATION .. ~ l .• . ' ·' - 3S- 77. OF INITIATION - NONE _YES _.NO _DO NOT KNOW 78. INTI'IATION/CUSTOM LEARN CUSTOM _YES _NO _DO NOT KNOW 79. INITIATION· WHAT KIND- FIRST ~lANDO (MEN)· _NSONDO _ZOMA ___i_CHURCH _NYAU(MEN) _UTIWO ___.:.. CHIPUTIJ ___:.. MKANGALI _ LUPANDA (MEN) 80. ~TION- WHAT KIND- SECOND _NSONDO _NYAU _LITIWO ____;OTHER 81. HOW MUCH DO YOU SPEND FOR INITIATION? CHIEF DO NOT KNOW- NAMKUNGWI NOT APPUCABLE- PHUNGU--- CEREMONIES- FOOD~--- CLOTHES-- FEAST--- TOTAL--- 82. DO YolJ~BXPECT TO INITIATE YOUR CHILDREN? _YES _NO _DO NOT KNOW 83. INITIATION- NO BENEFIT FOR GIRL (ANSWER ONE) ~YES, NO BENEFITS-JUST . · :.......:_NO, DID NOT SAY NO BENEFIT _DO NOT KNOW _ _NOT APPLICABLE PLEASE ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS: .. . -36- STATEMI!f" .YES NO DON'T KNOW NOT APPUC 84. INITIATION BENEFIT: GIRL BECOMES MATURE AND POLITE 85. INITIATION BENEFIT: GIRL LEARN CUSTOM 86. INmATION • NO NEGATIVE ASPECT· BENEFIT GIRLS 87. INmATION NEGATIVE ASPECT: GIRL BECOMES RUDE 88. INITIATION NEGATIVE ASPECT: GIRL USES BAD LANGUAGE 89. INmATION NEGATIVE ASPECT: GIRL LOOSES INTEREST IN SCHOOL 90. INITIATION - NO BENEm FOR BOYS 91. INITIATION BENEFIT: BOY BECOMES POUTEIMATURE 92. INITIATION BENEFIT: BOY LEARNS CUSTOM 93. INITIATION BENEFIT: BOY LEARNS HARD WORK 94. INITIATION - NO NBGATIVE ASPECT FOR BOYS 95. Wll.L YOUR DAUGHTERS GO BACK TO SCHOOL AFI'ER INmATION? -YES _NO _DO NOT KNOW 96. HOW MANY BOOKS DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR HOUSE? 97. WHERE DO YOU GET WATER _TAP WELL _ _RIVER LAKE -SWAMP --:.: .. . • 37· ANNEX3 REC~ATIONS OF THE WORKSHOP ON INCREASING ACCESS OF GIRLS AND WOMEN IN BDUCATION AND TRAINING OPPORnJNITIES IN MALAWI Held at Lilongwe Hotel, July 30 - August 3, 1990 2. !fQRKSflOP UCQMHENDATIONS. variOUS participants from Government Ministries and Departments, the ·onal Commission on Women in Development (NCWID), Malawi Congress Npat~Y Non-Governmental Organisations and donor organisations havina ar ded the workshop on ''INCREASING ACCESS OF GIRLS AND WOHEN TO at~~:TION AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES IN MALAWI" from the 30th July to 3rt: ~~eust. 1990, after serious and lengthy deliberations, hereby recommend :: follows: iPUCATION fOR GIRLS AND WQMEH 11 Motinc that the Malawi population is young and that education is ~rucial for the young population, and realising that the increasina and improvement of the present education system requires extra resources, it is recommended that the Ministry of Finance should allocate more funds t'. the education sector. It is further recomme~ded· that Ministry of Educati~ ·and Culture should consider offerina free and compulsory education for students up to standard 8. This should be done in two phases beginning 1991/1992 academic year. ....·., (2) Noting that there is need to improve the present curricula so that ii enhance$ the perfomance of girls, equips students with self-reliant skil: and excludes gender biased materials, and further, noting that the Ministry of Education and Culture is currently reviewing the school curricula, it is recommended that in its review the Hinistr:v of Educatio1 and culture should place emphasis on the removal of gender biased school literature and inclusion of subjects which will equip the students in self-reliant skills. The takina ot these observations into account shoul1 be immediate whilst this reviewina is still in proaress (3} Notina that the female population is hi•her than the male population in Malawi, aad observ~na that the girls in the female only institutions produce better results, it is recommended that the Ministry of Education and Culture should increase female only institutions. It is further recommended that the said Ministry should ensure that one female only institutions is built in all the three regions by the year 1995. . . . C4) Noting that there exists t.echnical w~ngs in all mode~ primary school: and that these are not functional, it is recommended that the Ministry o Education and Culture should ensure that the facilities are functioning 1 providing the necessary materials and employing the needed teachers. It further recommended that the Ministry should assist 'in settinc up revolving funds in these technical wings .. (5) Notina that in some districts of the.country initiation ceremonies take place durinc the school session, it is recbmmended that Ministry o: Education and Culture should utiliae the party machinery, ... :··:.::-. :· .. -~·· ··-.: ~.: .~. ~:- . ·_,.. ~' . .. ' ,.., .. ,. . .. .. . ...... . .. ~ ..~· .... .- . :· .. ' , . . . ·t aditional aDd religious leaders in educating the public on the need to . trve these initation ceremonies dur'ing holidays so that the ceremonies do ha, affect the education of the youth. no"' (S) Notinl that som~ initiation ceremonies have negative elements, it i3 ecommen~ed that the Family Welfare Council should initiate a forum r onsistin& of traditional birth attendants, church leaders and tradi ti•,ns ~eaders·which ·should look at the negative elements of some of the . ni tiation ceremonies. The forum sht.,uld come tlp with a pi lot project. Th i ~ ~ecollllli'lendation should be implemented as sovn as the council is establish": .. 50 that it implements the suggestions of this forum on pilot basis. ( 1) Noting that there is a high perc~n.tage ·of early marriages and that t.l·;.-. rnean age of marriag~ for girls is 17. it is recommended that the Malawi. congress Party (MCP), Hass Media (MBC. Information Department, Daily Times) and religious leaders should disseminate information to the puhl i•::! on the need for edu,zation of the y1:>tlth. (8) Noting that incidence of female students dropping out of school du.e to pregnancies is high and also ·noting that after dismissal these girls -have no chance of being re-admitted into the school system as opposed to boys, it is recommended that the Ministry of Education and Culture shotlld review its policy .:-,n.d re-admit these stu.dents once during the whole of their education period. (9) Acknowledging that the MJ.ni.stry of Ci:unmunity Services co-ordinates u .. provision of assistance to needy st.udents, it is recommended that the Ministry should increase its outreach for female students. · (101 Noting that there are more illiterate females than males in Malawi, it is recommended that the Ministry of Community Services should intensif~ Adult Literacy Programmes by recruiting more well qualified teachers. Tc· this end, the Ministry should also consider recruiting .retired teach~rs. It is further recommended that the Hinistry should upgrade the Adult l.iteracy Prograremes by including skills training components. Further, th·_ remuneration for the ~eachers in these schools should be increased. . . . (11) Noting the need for good co-ordination of the Adult Literacy Programme, it•i=fs recommended that the National Advisory Council for Ad1J.2.: Literacy should reinforce co-ordination between the Ministries of Community Services and Education ~nd Culture in that a linkage should b·:- developed between the Adult Literacy Programme and the formal education · syst.em so as to enable graduates from the'Adult Literacy Pl;'<;>gramines to enter the formal educat.ion s}·stem. CAREER GUIDAllGE_t\ND COUNSE!.LU~Si (12) Noting that career guieance and cc·,Jnselling in schools at present . not effective, it is recommended that the tUnistry of Education and Culture should intensify guidance and co1..msellir1g services in the scho··. The Ministry should also emplc'y r>nd t.r"-'~:.n th~se counsellors who should based in scho(lls -'Wi :..nei r 11c't i vi ci'!s sho•1ld be time-tabled. ' ( b} It is furt.hF..:r r•:::c~omm4'1naed that the Natl !)n.::tl Commission •='fl W-:..m·;;n . , Development ~houl d organis~ ~ works:H,P ft':_.r t.he mas~ 111edia. t.•:::=-tch":!!.'!'S ~.~.:J,ygrQUPS. and chur(.;h <)rgarJisati·?nS. which slior;1d fN'!IJS r)fl !l•~mdet· ,_-l:_.:· · :>;sues ·in education and training. )_t;lATIONAL AN:Q _jECHt:l I C:Al,......TRA lti.llill , 14 l Noting that thert.! is a lmmended that the NCWID should. ir1 c~onjt.... t.: ··n ··I,·:. :11 nistries of Education and Culture and Labour, ~nd l)epllrtment of Yo·lt·i· and Malawi Young Pioneers approach the said insti tuthms sc:> that t1'1ese insti tU,:tions provide quotas for the female student. I t is recommended t.h.;, :~llocat'ion for female students should start with 10% and increase to 50~., "'ithin 5 years. (15) (a) Noting the need to tr•in and rehabilitate girl dropouts and deliquents, it is recommended that the CCAH should set funds to train and rehabilitate these girls. To this end, the CCAM should set up institution ~hich w~ll equip the said girls with some skills and orientation for self-employment. The experiences of the Tiyende Project in Balaka should be utilised. (b) In the irttdrim. the Ministry of Community Services. in conjucti•"J t.iith CCAM and Non-Governmental Organisations, for example ZOA Refugee Care, World Vision InternatiQnal etc should draw up a programme for training of trainers in various skills for school dr'-')P 011ts so as to .::qui girls with survival skills which can also be used in income gen~rating activities. · · ( 16} Noting the problem of the heavy workload on women and the need r.o ·. dissemminate informati,.on on appropriate time saving technologies, it is recommended that the NCWlD, through its Research and Evaluation Committe.: should disseminate the available identified appropriate technologies. EHPLQYHENT AND CQNDJ~NS OF SERVICE [OR GIRLS AND WQHEN {17) Noting that scme legal provisions relating to employment hinde.r girl and women employment, it is recommended that the NCWID. through its Employment and Training Committee, should liaise with Ministries of Lab01. and Justice examine existing employment laws so that laws which · rliscriminate against women are amended. (18) Noting that the effective date of service for women on permanent anc P~nsionable terms in respect of those who opted to be· on permanent and P~nsionable terms is 31st April, 1981, it is recommended that the NCWID. srtould approach the Department of Personnel Management. and Training on tl matt·er. so that the permanent and pensionable .terms. should apply· to the ~aid category of people with effect from the date of their first 1PPQintment. , ••• ~-·. ~~.-.- ~.•-.., .... ···•.- .*-' ·r:·- . ...---• ., .- . ··. .. ' , I g) MotinS~. .at some conditions of service for female civil servants are (1 terent frOm those of men. and put women at a disadvantage, for ~iftance. upon marriage women and not men are called upon to make an 1 n:ion whether they want to be employed on temporary or permanent basis.~, ?P 15 rec()IIIIJl!Jnded that the NCWID shottld discuss this matter with the rtment of Personnel Management and Training and recommend that all ~e::le civil servants should be appointed on permanent basis, irrespect! ... . _. : their_status, this should be with immediate effect . . 0 ( 20) Noting that women in the industrial class category in the civil ervice are not granted paid maternity leave, it is recomme~ded tha.t ;emale industrial class in the civil service should, with immediate ~ffect, be granted 90 days of paid maternity leave. (21} Noting that female teachers who get pregna~t out of wedlock get dismissed. it is recommended that the Ministry of Education arid Culture should review this regulation since it only prejudices women. (22} Noting that the Malawi Public Service Regulations are currently und<2,r review, it is recommended that the National Commission on Women .in Development should be represented on the reviewins panel with immediate effect,- whilst the reviewing is in progress. GENERAL (23) Noting that tha Malawi population is growing at a fast rat.e and realising that Malawian men are not heeding to chilq spacing messages, 3nd further noting that the birth intervals are $hort wqich in turn hinders women in using the available education and training opportunities, it iz r.ecommended that the Ministry of Health should intensify child spacing messages by involving male nurses in disseminating child spacing information. It is further recommended that the Ministry of Health, through its extension services. should place child spacing messages in places frequented by men such as tarvens, bottle stores; etc and on utensils frequently us~d by men such as glasses,match boxes, soap wrapper.s etc. GENERAL PLAN Of ACTION j:;: It was re~mmended that th~ Education and Training Committee of the Nation~l,·Coi'DII'I.tssion on Women in Development should hold a meeting with the Executive Board of the National Commission on Women in Development by the·end of August, 1990 to present the workshop's rec?mmendations. Further. noting tha·t plans are underway by the National Commission .-:--n Women in Development to hold a symposi~.~m on Women i~ Development issues for policy makers. it was recommended that the wor·kshop' s recommendations be one of the i terns on the agenda at 'the symposium. . ·.·.• ·--