Members of Parliamentary Committees on Education, Science, and Technology, and Parliamentary Accounts Committee toured Secondary Education Expansion for Development (SEED) Project construction sites to appreciate the scope and progress of the U.S. Government-supported effort - funded by the USAID and U.S. Presidential Emergency Plan for Aids Relief.
The Secondary Education Expansion for Development (SEED) Project is a $90 million partnership between the GoM and the U.S. government (USG) to increase access to secondary schools and reduce HIV risk for adolescent girls and young women. In July 2018, the USG and GoM signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outlining their joint contributions to the SEED program.
The GoM’s contributions to SEED include recruiting, training, and funding salaries for qualified secondary school teachers; reducing the total amount of secondary school fees nationwide; ensuring youth access to youth-friendly health services near secondary school grounds; and incorporating comprehensive sexuality education in the national curriculum to keep young people HIV-free.
To date, the Ministry of Education (MoE) has eliminated the secondary school tuition fee (as well as the textbook revolving fund and general-purpose fund), started hiring secondary school teachers, and has commenced with the comprehensive sexuality curriculum revision, demonstrating GoM’s commitment to fulfilling their obligations under the SEED MOU.
The SEED Project consists of three primary components:
1. SEED Urban constructed 96 new classrooms in 30 existing overcrowded urban secondary schools in Lilongwe, Blantyre, Zomba, and Mzuzu. SEED Urban completed construction by November 2020, and the facilities were handed over to the MoE on May 10, 2021, at a colorful event that was presided over by the Malawi President and U.S. Ambassador at Mchengautuba Community Day Secondary Schools (CDSS) in Mzuzu City.
2. SEED Rural will provide 20,000 to 30,000 new seats in CDSSs in rural areas across the country l. SEED Rural will be implemented in four stages/groups. Construction of the first group of 38 rural schools across 8 districts began in December 2021 and two of the sites (Bua and Kazire) are the ones being visited today. Fifty-one (51) more schools across 18 districts will be contracted next quarter.
3. SEED Contract Management Consultant (CMC) provides Architecture and Engineering Services, primarily school design, quality assurance and construction oversight, to the SEED program.
Photo Credit: Oris Chimenya