The Civil Society Education Coalition (CSEC) says there are areas in the education sector which have not been given enough funds in the 2023/24 national budget.
Board Chairperson for the organization Limbani Nsapato told journalists on Monday that the budget that was presented by the Minister of Finance Sosten Gwengwe has some shortfalls which need to be addressed.
Nsapato said they have seen that some areas are under-allocated like on special needs education, bursaries on students and teaching and learning materials.
“The 8% increement of teachers salaries is not enough, government need to do better. We hope that through this interaction they will take our message aboard so that the issues that we have pointed out should be addressed and the budget should indeed benefit the targeted beneficiaries,” he said.
On his part, vice chairperson of Education Committee of Parliament Ephraim Nayeja concurred with Nsapato saying the gaps are very clear and as a Member of Parliament they will lobby for the increment of funds so that the money can be used for the intended purpose.
Member of Parliament for Thyolo North commended CSEC for the analysis saying it should be presented and discussed with the whole committee before the passing of the budget.
“These are gaps that have negatively affected the education sector. What we are going to do as Members of Parliament is to lobby for increment of the allocation to the sector,” he explained.
Programs Manager for Forum for African Women Educationalists in Malawi (FAWEMA) Mphatso Kapalamura said that they are interested in the budget because the organization supports girl-child education and if the budget addresses some of the challenges that girl-child faces then the issue of school dropout among girls will be reduced.
In the 2023/24 budget, education and skills development sector has been allocated K604 billion.
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