I’m excited to have co-led the preparation of the Malawi Education Reform Program (MERP), the largest-ever World Bank investment in primary education in Malawi. Co-financed by the Global Partnership for Education as well as the Government of Malawi, MERP represents the culmination of five years’ research and impact evaluation in Malawi and scales up pilot interventions with proven success in raising learning outcomes. Focusing on improving learning environments in lower primary, the US$210 million project will provide finance to more than 3,000 severely overcrowded schools to construct low-cost classrooms and hire auxiliary teachers; train and appoint Learner Mentors in 2,500 schools to support female learners; provide training to more than 9,000 head teachers and deputies to manage schools in resource-constrained conditions; and provide results-based finance to support improvements in teacher distribution and on-time delivery of grants to schools.

You can read more about MERP here.

The project comprises of six components. The first component, expanding and reforming primary school improvement grants (PSIG) supports the expansion and reform of PSIG, which is the primary source of discretionary finance to schools, to provide additional and more needs-based support to schools, with timely and predictable delivery of finance, building on the successful pilot under Malawi Education Sector Improvement Project (MESIP). The second component, improved learning environments in lower primary to support learning recovery after Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) will provide finance targeted to schools with exceptional need (MERP SIG), to support construction of low-cost classrooms and latrines, and hiring of auxiliary teachers. It consists of following sub-components: (i) low-cost construction; (ii) auxiliary teachers; and (iii) hardship school’s support. The third component, supporting girls’ learning supports a range of activities to raise the learning achievement of girls, including supporting female learners and improving the numbers of female teachers in schools in remote areas. The fourth component, school leadership program (SLP) will support the national delivery of an updated SLP supporting headteachers, deputy headteachers, Primary Education Adviser (PEAs), inspectors, and selected female section heads. The fifth component, project coordination and capacity building will finance the management of the project, including reporting. The sixth component, contingent emergency response is primarily intended to enable the government to take steps to prevent or manage a resurgence of COVID-19 in schools but also eligible for use for any other eligible crisis or emergency as defined in the International Development Association (IDA) financing agreement.