The Introduction of Preparatory Class (P-Class) in all Public Primary Schools

Malawi recognizes that foundational learning is important for education development. However, currently, there is learning poverty where learners aged 10 are not able to read a simple sentence with comprehension. Globally, learning poverty stands at 70%, Sub-Saharan Africa at 90%, while Malawi is at 87%. This challenge could be attributed to lack of Early Childhood Education (ECE) that is believed to give the best start in educational life. Even though Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres exist in many parts of the country, there is little or no emphasis on ECE in these centres. The ECD curriculum is not even aligned to primary school curriculum in terms of school readiness for primary education. In line with this, the Ministry of Education Science and Technology intends to introduce Preparatory class(P-class) in all the public primary schools. It is hoped that the introduction of P-Class will reduce repetition rates, drop out rates and improve primary school completion rates.