Report On Mid-Term Evaluation Of The National Strategy On Inclusive Education 2017-2021.

The Government of Malawi through Ministry of Education (MoE) developed the National Strategy on Inclusive Education with the aim of promoting equitable access to quality education to all learners regardless of differences in their abilities. This was an attempt to make a paradigm shift from focusing only on special needs education but rather take a broader approach of leveling the playground by taking on board all learners to ensure everyone has access to quality of education. The strategy has been in operation since 2017. In respect to this, Civil Society Education Coalition (CSEC) contracted Dr. Zikani Kaunda and his team to carry out mid-line evaluation assessing the progress made so far towards implementation of the strategy. The study which was conducted for 10 days involved meeting different stakeholders on inclusive education where data was collected through in-depth interviews, reviewing enrollment records and classroom observations. Meetings were arranged with Ministry officials at Ministry of Education headquarters, Non-governmental Organization (NGO) officials, District Education Managers (DEMs), Primary school Education Advisors (PEAs), Head Teachers for secondary and Primary Schools, Teachers for secondary and primary schools, Students, and Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) and School Management committee (SMC) members. The study found out that some progress has been made on the implementation of IE strategy, ranging from capacity building of teachers to some improvement on infrastructure; however, there is still more that needs to be done by government and all players in order to make significant headway in achieving education for all children. This report has been divided into various sections including: s The Context of the Evaluation, Objective and Scope of the Mid-Term Evaluation , Evaluation Methodology, Findings and Analysis, challenges, Conclusions and Recommendations.