This report presents an analysis of howeffectively current policies in Malawi engage the privatesector in primary and secondary education. The analysisdraws on the engaging the private sector (EPS) framework, aproduct of the World Bank’s systems approach for bettereducation results (SABER). SABER-EPS research in Malawifound that the net enrollment rate for primary education hasincreased significantly, to 89 percent, while secondary netenrollment rate remains low, at only 11 percent as of 2013(the latest available data). At both the primary andsecondary levels, quality, and equity are challenges. Theprivate sector plays an increasingly significant role ineducation at both levels. Based on a review of existingpolicies, SABER-EPS offers the following recommendations forenhancing private sector engagement in the education sectorin the country in order to meet the challenges of access,quality, and equity: (1) concentrate on improving thequality of learning outcomes by encouraging continuousimprovement at the school level by means of schoolimprovement planning and incentives; (2) empower parents byensuring that they are given information on school qualitythat enables them to make informed choices and are nothindered by restrictive school selection criteria; and (3)create a regulatory environment that encourages greatersupply of school places to help overcome constraints,particularly at the secondary level. The report provides anoverview of SABER-EPS, followed by a description of theprimary and secondary education system in Malawi with afocus on the private sector and government policies relatedto the private provision of education. The report thenbenchmarks Malawi’s policy environment utilizing theSABER-EPS Framework and offers policy options to enhanceaccess and learning for all children in primary andsecondary school.
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