Malawi urged to cut teacher-pupil ratio to boost learning outcomes

Malawi has been urged to reduce its teacher-pupil ratio as part of wider efforts to improve learning outcomes, even as the country has made significant progress expanding access to education and integrating technology into classrooms.

Minister of Education Bright Msaka made the remarks at a press briefing on Friday, marking the close of the three-day Africa Foundational Learning Exchange (FLEX) 2026 conference in Lilongwe.

He said discussions at the continental gathering identified overcrowded classrooms as one of the major obstacles to quality education across Africa.

Msaka said that while Malawi has made notable strides in expanding access to education and embracing classroom technology, reducing class sizes remains critical to ensuring learners receive quality instruction and achieve better outcomes.

He said the conference gave Malawi an important platform to learn from other African countries’ experiences in leveraging development partner support to address challenges facing the education sector.

“The discussions have given us valuable insights into practical strategies that can help strengthen our education system, particularly in improving foundational learning,” he said.

Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) Executive Secretary Albert Nsengiyumva called on African governments to intensify efforts to eliminate learning poverty by 2035.

He said achieving that target would require strong political leadership, improved governance, evidence-based policymaking through effective use of education data, and greater investment in mother-tongue instruction during the early years of learning.

Nsengiyumva said these measures were essential to building strong foundational literacy and numeracy skills, which underpin long-term educational success.

The three-day conference, held from 15 to 17 July in Lilongwe, brought together education ministers, policymakers, education experts and development partners from across the continent to exchange knowledge and share solutions aimed at strengthening foundational learning in Africa.

FLEX was first held in 2023 in Freetown, Sierra Leone, before its second edition in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2024.

Malawi’s hosting of the third edition marks another step in the continent’s collaborative push to improve education systems and accelerate progress towards quality foundational learning for all children