A fresh call has been made for the Malawi government to scrutinise public schools amid concerns over their performance in national examinations.
Education expert Victor Chikoti has urged authorities to strengthen checks and balances in public schools to identify the challenges affecting learners and find lasting solutions.
His comments come after results for the 2026 Junior Certificate of Education (JCE) and Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education (PSLCE) examinations showed strong performances from several Catholic and other faith-based schools.
In the JCE results, Catholic-affiliated schools featured prominently among the top-performing institutions based on the proportion of candidates obtaining As and Bs.
St Mauritius in Rumphi led the Catholic schools with 94.98 percent, followed by St Kizito Seminary in Dedza with 90.67 percent.
Other Catholic-affiliated schools in the JCE top 10 included Robert Blake in Dowa with 89.64 percent, Loyola Jesuit in Kasungu with 89.63 percent, St Mary’s in Zomba Urban with 89.57 percent and Marist in Dedza with 85.01 percent.
Ludzi Girls in Mchinji topped the overall JCE ranking with 95.71 percent, while Mzuzu Government Secondary School was the highest-ranked government institution in the national top 10, recording 83.01 percent.
Speaking to Malawi24, Chikoti said the performance trend in both the JCE and PSLCE examinations should concern authorities and calls for a closer assessment of government schools.
He said the government should examine the entire education system, including teaching methods, school management, teacher commitment and learner discipline, to establish why some schools are consistently performing better than others.
According to Chikoti, discipline and commitment among both teachers and learners are important factors behind the strong performance of some schools.
“For example, in those schools, you will find that teachers are finishing their syllabus in good time and there is no laxity,” said Chikoti.
He has therefore urged education authorities to conduct regular assessments of government schools and use the findings to introduce targeted interventions aimed at improving teaching and learning outcomes.
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What about incentives towards teachers such as good salaries and promotions? As far as you never mention these, don’t expect best results. Malawian teachers are the the least paid globally.