The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on Wednesday officially handed over several education projects and intervention programmes that have been implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education following the decision of the USA Government to withdraw USAID funding from the education portifolios globally.

The handover ceremony took place at the Ministry’s Headquarters at Capital Hill in Lilongwe, marking the conclusion of USAID’s active financial support for now.

Over the years, the two ministries have collaboratively implemented a range of development projects with funding and technical support from USAID.

The programmes targeted foundational learning, inclusive education, and infrastructure development across Malawi’s education sector.

Speaking at the event, Pamela Fessenden, USAID Mission Director, expressed appreciation for the strong working relationship between USAID and the two ministries.

“Under the USAID-supported National Reading Programme (NRP), we facilitated the development and printing of Standard 1–4 curriculum and instructional materials in both English and Chichewa. We also recently trained 24,000 Standard 1–2 teachers and initiated a revision of the Inclusive Education Strategy,” she said.

Ms. Fessenden further highlighted additional achievements, including:
Completion of 72 Community Day Secondary Schools (CDSS),Progress on 17 CDSS construction sites, currently at an average of 65 percent completion, development of induction standards for newly hired primary school teachers and teaching practice.

Secretary for Higher Education, Dr. Levis Eneya, acknowleded USAID contributions, noting their significant impact on the advancement of education in Malawi.

Echoing these sentiments, Secretary for Basic and Secondary Education, Dr. Rachel Chimbwete Phiri, described the partnership as both beneficial and transformative.

The handover meeting served to acknowledge the contributions of USAID and to commend both ministries for their joint efforts in implementing impactful education reforms.