LEG urges legislatures to ensure education gets 20% of total budget
Link for Education Governance (LEG) has appealed to members of parliament to allocate at least 20% of the total national budget to education.
LEG made the appeal to the legislatures in a media statement made available to Nyasa Times reminding them that Malawi signed a commitment under Education for All (EFA) Goals to allocate at least 20% of the total national budget to education.
“For the past three financial years the allocation to education has gone down from 15% to 13%. Now that education science and technology have been taken up as one of the priority areas, we therefore expect you honorable members to help government in achieving the EFA Goals by making contributions that ensure the EFA and National Goals are met,” the statement signed by Andrew Ussi (policy and advocacy director), Clement Masangano (capacity building director) and Mathiuz Mkandawire (board chairman).
“LEG would like to urge you our representatives in the National Assembly to particularly consider allocating adequate resources to Special Needs Education and ensure the Special Needs Institute, whose construction schedule is way behind, is constructed within the next five years as planned in the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy,” reads the statement.
Finance Minister Ken Kandodo (pictured) delivers the national budget Friday July 3 and the members will deliberate and approve the appropriation act after 21 days.
LEG also appealed for members to fight for the plight of teachers in the budget.
“Other education areas that need attention are the improvement of the welfare of teachers. Education in Malawi cannot improve if teachers are not well taken care of through provision of hardship allowances, settling of outstanding arrears and construction of adequate teachers’ houses and renovation of the old,” said the statement.
The nongovernmental organisation said it is pleasing to note that President Bingu wa Mutharika has pledged to construct 1000 teachers’ houses in the 2009/2010 financial year.
“This target is however below the 3000 houses annual target in the National Education Sector Plan (NESP). It is important to note that every year over 3000 teachers are recruited and deployed. This therefore means that over two thirds of the newly recruited teachers and other more old serving teachers will not be housed.”
LEG urged legislatures to play an oversight function and ensure that more than 1000 teachers’ houses are constructed.
The education campaigners also drew the attention of MPs to the current Education Act of 1962 which is outdated and was formulated when there were no private schools.
The organisation said many new developments have occurred hence the need for speedy implementation of the revised act.
The organisation also welcomed the move taken by government to consider education as one of the priorities.
“It is our considered hope that the reforms in the education sector pledged by His Excellency the President Dr. Bingu Wa Munthalika will indeed transform the education sector. We would like to wish the new administration all the best in implementation of the priorities and members of parliament to ensure education budget has adequate allocation in 2009/2010 FYR and the years to follow,” reads the statement.
LEG also said it is extremely pleased by the President’s commitment to promote Adult Literacy Education programs.
“This coupled with construction of new primary schools and additional classrooms will increase access to education and reduce the illiteracy rate which is about 4.5 million. We hope that budgetary allocation to education will significantly improve and serious attention will also be paid to overlooked sectors like Special Needs Education, Early Childhood Development (ECD), out of school youth education.
“Adequate resources should also be made available to provide for teachers hardship allowances and clearing of outstanding arrears.”
The organisation recommended that it would also like to see on the one hand an improved coordination between Ministry of Planning, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Local Government and on the other hand the Ministry of Education Science and Technology (MoEST), Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) and Ministry of the Youth which implement education programs .
Tagged with: Andrew Ussi, budget, Kandodo, Lik for Education Governance, parliament
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