Minister of Education Science and Technology, Hon Dr William Susuwele Banda has said that government decision to abolish quota system of selecting students in University and the reintroduction of JCE certificate is not a political move, but a response to the needs on the ground
The Minister announced the decision to abolish quota at a press conference he jointly addressed with Minister of Information, Civic Education and Communication Technologies Hon. Mark Botomani.
The policy of enrolling students into public universities based on a controversial quota system divided the country, raising accusations of the suppression of minorities.
The quota system, which was based on students’ district of origin, rather than merit alone, has been used for nearly a decade now and acts as a form of affirmative action for students from the country’s central and southern regions due to their perceived regional underrepresentation at universities.
However, some academics, clergymen and political activists have said it is discriminatory against northerners where the minority Tumbuka are based.
Malawi’s first president Kamuzu Banda introduced the quota system in the 1960s to address what the government perceived was a disproportionately high number of admissions of students from the northern area of the country.
Malawians from the north are seen as advantaged due to the establishment by missionaries of good schools such as the Livingstonia Mission named after Scottish explorer David Livingstone.
However, those opposed to the policy say Banda introduced it to settle political scores as most of his political opponents came from that region.
In 2009, the government of the late president Bingu wa Mutharika reintroduced what it termed the ‘Equitable Access to Higher Education’ policy, also based on regional quotas. His brother who is the incumbent president, Peter Mutharika, is still enforcing it.
In terms of the official selection system, “the top 10 qualified candidates from each district are offered places and thereafter, the rest are selected based on merit and the size of the population of the districts they originate from”.
An ‘evil’ system?
In an indication of how contested the policy is, the country’s former vice president, Saulos Chilima, who was a losing candidate in this year’s disputed May elections, went so far as to describe the quota system as “evil” and promised to scrap it should he win the election.
Last month, the Minister of Education, Science and Technology William Banda said there was a lot of misconception about the quota system and that government needs to meet and discuss it thoroughly.
In a recent interview on YFM radio, he said the quota system was aimed at addressing the gap that exists between students from well-established secondary schools and those from community day secondary schools (former distance learning centres).
JCE examinations reinstated
Malawi education minister also said the JCE examinations will be taken in 2021.
“Government has been following, with keen interest, the debate on the need to re-introduce Junior Certificate of Education (JCE) Examinations as one way of enhancing quality.
The abolition of JCE Examinations meant that students were taking four years in secondary school before taking national examination.
“This arrangement encouraged students to relax and at the end, not doing well in their examinations at the end of the four years,” the education minister said.
He said furthermore, candidates that failed MSCE Examination had nothing to show for them attendance at secondary school level
