Authorities in Kasungu rue poor primary school results

Education stakeholders in Kasungu have called for concerted efforts to improve the district’s performance in the Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education (PSLCE) examinations following a decline in its 2026 results.

Kasungu dropped to position 31 out of 34 education districts in the 2026 PSLCE examinations, a decline from its previous mid-table position.

Speaking on Monday after a review of the district’s performance, Kasungu district director of education and sports Votie Mboweni attributed the poor results to several challenges, including uneven distribution of teachers, inadequate learner assessment and difficulties in teacher supervision.

Mboweni: Assessment of learners is not consistent. | Cynthia Mphepo

He said the challenges were more pronounced in remote areas, where schools have fewer teachers, noting that the end of the Malawi Education Reform Programme (Merp) has affected results following the termination of contracts for auxiliary teachers.

“Assessment of learners is not consistent due to shortages of equipment and stationery while supervision by primary education advisers [PEAs] was affected by shortage of motorcycles,” said Mboweni.

He said only five out of the district’s 35 zones have motorcycles, making regular supervision of schools difficult, adding that the district has 395 primary schools but only two operational vehicles.

Simlemba Zone PEA Tedson Chiwanda also highlighted insufficient fuel and shortages of learning and teaching materials as some of the factors affecting education outcomes in the district.

He said: “We have put in place measures to improve performance next year, including zone sensitisation meetings involving parents, chiefs, teachers and learners.

“These meetings will focus on regular learner assessment and teacher supervision to support schools achieve good results.”

Kasungu North North East legislator Oswald Chirwa(Democratic Progressive Party) commended the review, saying it was crucial to discuss how to improve PSLCE examinations results in the district.

About 12 000 learners in Kasungu registered for the 2026 PSLCE examinations and about 9 000 passed

The post Authorities in Kasungu rue poor primary school results appeared first on Nation Online.