Private school teachers urged to work harder as Prisam boss links effort to better pay and pupil results

The President of the Private Schools Association of Malawi (Prisam), Ernest Kaonga, has challenged teachers across the country’s private education sector to raise their game, insisting that hard work is the key to boosting both learner performance and staff welfare.

Kaonga argued that strong academic results directly attract more pupils to private schools, which in turn helps improve teachers’ overall welfare — and crucially, their salaries.

He made the comments in Blantyre on the sidelines of a series of stakeholder meetings tied to Prisam’s 500-student scholarship programme.

The Prisam president also turned his attention to school owners, urging them to uphold high standards and ensure they are properly remitting pension contributions and Pay As You Earn (Paye) tax on behalf of their employees.

Kaonga acknowledged the financial pressures many schools face, admitting that remitting pension and Paye payments isn’t always straightforward given that fee collection remains schools’ primary — and often unreliable — source of income.

“This is a requirement of the law as such school owners should make proper adjustments,” he said, stressing that compliance was non-negotiable regardless of financial difficulties.

He added that engagements like the current round of stakeholder meetings offer a valuable opportunity for improvement across the board — for school owners, employees and students alike.