LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The country’s civil rights group on education under the banner Civil Society Education Coalition (CSEC) is unhappy with chronic underfunding on education sector.
The grouping argues that the deficit is crippling all education sub-sectors while hindering the country’s ability to provide quality education.
CSEC observes further that Malawi is persistently failuring to allocate at least 20% of the national budget to education, as per the Dakar Framework for Action.
CSEC Board Chairperson Dr. Limbani Nsapato therefore urged legislators to push for an increase in the education budget, aligning it with international commitments.
Nsapato was speaking at an engagement meeting with Members of Parliament (MPs) in Lilongwe on 2025/2026 national budget analysis.
“The education sector continues to receive far below the recommended 20%, leaving critical programs severely underfunded.
“Some sub-sectors are operating on budgets that are 50% or less of what is required, making it nearly impossible to achieve national education targets.”
In the proposed 2025/2026 national budget, the government has allocated MK1.2 trillion to education—just 16% of the total budget, falling short of the Dakar target by MK500 billion.
To bridge this funding gap, CSEC has proposed several domestic resource mobilization strategies, including: introducing an education levy, tapping into diaspora contributions, eliminating unnecessary tax waivers for national and multinational corporations that currently drain public revenue.
“These tax breaks reduce funds that should be invested in key areas such as special needs education, education technology, vocational training, and early childhood development,” Nsapato emphasized.
Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Education, Brainax Kaisi therefore assured stakeholders that legislators will lobby the Ministries of Education and Finance, as well as development partners, to increase funding for the sector.
However, Kaisi also raised concerns about how allocated funds are being used.
“We want maximum utilization of resources for their intended purpose. Even with limited funding, efficiency and accountability are crucial,” he said.
The engagement meeting attracted participants from civil society organizations and government representatives, media was jointly organized by Oxfam Malawi, Sight Savers, ActionAid Malawi, Plan Malawi, GAYO, FAWENA, and other CSEC partners.