sure that secondary
education is completely free
By Nelson Gonjani:
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has said it has plans to abolish boarding fees in public secondary schools, marking the final phase of the Free Secondary Education (FSE) initiative.
The move follows the government’s earlier decision to abolish tuition fees in all public secondary schools across the country.
Education, Science and Technology Deputy Minister Francis Foley revealed the plans after inspecting Equity with Quality and Learning at Secondary Schools (Equals) Project implementation sites in Chitipa, Karonga and Kasungu districts.
“Let me assure Malawians that this is the [Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)] government’s fiscal year. We are expecting to table this during the parliament meeting from February 13 to April 10 this year,” he said.
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The current administration took over from the Malawi Congress Party regime after Malawians voted in the September 16, 2025 Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections.
DPP’s Peter Mutharika won the presidential race.
Foley reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring that every child, regardless of their family’s financial background, has access to education services.
“We, as government, are very committed to ensuring that every child has access to school services. We will make sure that secondary education is completely free, and that is what we will address in the upcoming meeting of Parliament,” he said.
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Foley said despite the planned removal of boarding fees, the ministry would maintain education standards.
“We will be monitoring frequently to ensure that service delivery remains at the required quality level despite education being free,” he said.
Meanwhile, Member of Parliament for Kasungu Municipal Constituency Noel Mkubwi has taken advantage of the minister’s visit to ask for development initiatives.
“We have pleaded with the deputy minister to consider rehabilitating classrooms that were damaged by Cyclone Freddy in 2023,” he said.
The Free Secondary School Education initiative was introduced to ease the financial burden on families and increase access to secondary schooling across Malawi.
