Equity and Quality Issues in Mathematics Education in Malawi Schools

Abstract

In this chapter, we discuss equity and quality of mathematics education in Malawi in terms of equal opportunities of education to all groups of learners and in terms of indicators of quality developed by the Malawi government. We focus on female and male learners and also on rural and urban schools. Differences between female and male learners include that the proportion of females is much less than that of males especially in secondary and higher education, and that female learners perform poorer than males in mathematics at all levels. Differences between rural and urban schools include access to resources where schools in urban areas have access to more and better human and material resources than rural schools, and that rural schools perform poorer than urban schools in mathematics national examinations. These differences indicate that these groups of learners do not have equal access and equal quality mathematics education. We discuss and critique some prospects for change which include commitment by government and associated initiatives and projects. Drawing on findings from some studies in Malawi, we argue that the indicators of quality as developed in Malawi focus on resources only and therefore take a simplistic view of equity.