Parliamentary committee wants JC examination back

Officials from the parliamentary committee on education are asking the government to bring back junior certificate examination to improve the dwindling standards of education in secondary schools.

The chairperson of the committee Brenix Kaise said the committee is working on a report which will be presented in parliament to recommend that JCE be brought back as part of continuous assessment of students.

The calls for the reinstatement of the JCE comes amid concerns that this year’s Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) pass rate was the lowest in years and some education experts blamed the abolishment of the JCE as one of the factors.

Ministry of Education principal secretary Justin Saidi said there was need for wider consultation on the issue before a final decision is made on whether to bring back JCE or not.

Recently, minister of Education William Susuwele-Banda said the poor results of the MSCE had nothing to do with the abolishment of the JCE.