By Taonga Sabola
For a long time, 36 year-old Amina Mkandawire Mustafa, had dreamt of securing a job so that she could make some money to take care of her family. Amina dropped out of school in primary school at Songani Primary School in Zomba in 2007 and immideately moved to Lilongwe where she eventually got married.
After some years of job hunting, mother luck finally smiled at her when she managed to secure a job. But the job had one condition which Amina had to fulfil before starting.
"They wanted someone who could speak English. Unfortunately I could not," she said.
Her joy was short-lived. Like dew in the morning, the opportunity that she had long waited for had evaporated gone. And Amina was devastated. Then a housewife and mother of three, Amina saw the job opportunity as a lifeline to be earning money.
"After picking myself up, I asked my husband if I could go back to school so that I could learn how to speak English. When he accepted, I enrolled at Chinsapo Learning Centre for adult literacy classes.
"While at the centre, I was also introduced to tailoring. I attended tailoring classes and then completed. Now I am a full time tailor and designer and I am able to make my own money," she said.
In a day, Amina is able to sew about four dresses. She charges an average of MK8, 000 (about USD5) per dress. "My husband is very happy for me. I am able to contribute towards some of the household needs. My kids are equally happy," she said.
Amina is just an example of adult Malawians who have managed to salvage their future through adult literacy and education. Through similar initiatives, but under startup category, Filder Mnjuzie of Chinsapo in Lilongwe is a proud owner of a hairdressing salon.
In his paper titled The Functional Literacy Programme in Malawi: Educating Adults for Improved Standards of Living, Paul Kishindo notes that adult literacy in Malawi began as a component of mass education pilot projects which Britain launched in its colonial territories in the late 1940s and 1950s.
The projects, however, were not successful due to technical and political reasons. According to Kishindo, a National Literacy Committee, set up in 1962 by the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) government which came to power in the August 1961 general elections, decided to make adult literacy a component of development efforts, with an emphasis on self-help.
Basically the programme called for the literate members of the community to volunteer to teach illiterate members to read and write and do simple arithmetical calculations.
He says communities themselves were to provide teaching aids such as chalk, chalk board, exercise books and pencils. Usually, however, the learners had to buy their own exercise books and pencils. By 1970 adult literacy activities had spread to all districts in the country.
Despite the apparent impressive coverage and a series of interventions stretching back to the colonial era, the problem of illiteracy and functional skills remain intractable in Malawi.
The 5th Integrated Household Survey (IHS5) pegs illiteracy rate at 24 percent with a rate of 17 percent among males and 31.2 percent among females.
National Planning Commission (NPC) Research Manager Andrew Jamali says an illiterate society is a burden to the society and the economy at large. "If you are illiterate, you want be able to know where opportunities lie. Most of the things are hidden in books. But when you are illiterate, you want be able to read and write.
"If you are illiterate, you can't write a proposal. That means your business won't grow. And if the illiterate community don't find any employment they become a burden to the government because the government has to hunt find resources to take care of them such as in hospitals, as well as food," he said.
In its 2020 National Adult Literacy and Education Policy, the Malawi Government recognised that high illiteracy rates, especially among the productive population, impede programme design to boost livelihoods, sustainable economic growth, environmental protection, promotion of good governance and democracy.
This, according to the policy, becomes even more critical in the context of increasingly complex contemporary development challenges characterized by, among others; severe poverty conditions, food insecurity, environmental degradation, and HIV and Aids.
Civil Society Education Coalition (CSEC) Executive Director Benedicto Kondowe says Malawi has made progress in Adult Literacy Education through government-led programmes and civil society initiatives.
Kondowe, however, notes that challenges remain, including inadequate funding, a shortage of trained instructors, inconsistent learning materials, and limited infrastructure.
"There is also low learner retention due to socio-economic factors and a lack of integration with livelihood opportunities. Strengthening policy implementation, increasing investment, and adopting innovative approaches like digital literacy can help bridge these gaps," he says.
Speaking when she launched the 2022 to 2027 National Adult Literacy and Education Strategic Plan Gender Minister Jean Sendeza underscored the need for adult education programmes to go beyond literacy and numeracy.
“Apart from teaching how to read and write, and arithmetic, adult literacy programmes should also provide opportunities for the acquisition of knowledge and skills in areas such as agriculture, business management, family planning, nutrition and home management, hygiene and sanitation, natural resources and environmental management, human rights, leadership and democracy at local levels," she said.
DVV International Regional Director for Southern Africa Gerhard Quincke said stakeholders’ collaboration is key in implementing the strategy to spur meaningful purposes for local community development.
As President Lazarus Chakwera put in when he opened the 2025 Tevet Conference, there is no room for lazy people in Malawi. It is only through Adult Literacy Education that Malawi can make its otherwise unproductive illiterate community productive again.
The article was first published by Times Group, Malawi