[{"bbox": [143, 106, 1086, 347], "category": "Text", "text": "action will primarily focus on Community day Secondary Schools (CDSSs), which constitute 62% of\nsecondary schools in Malawi, and cater for the rural and most disadvantaged communities in Malawi.\nThe action is aligned to both national and global commitments and strategies on education. Gender\nequality and environment and climate change protection and disaster preparedness have purposely been\nmainstreamed in the action in response to the challenges being faced, and also in fulfilment of EU\ncommitments to SDGs 4, 6 and 13. The action is aligned with the EU Gender Action Plan II and the EU\nYouth action plan for external actions. It will contribute to consequent fulfilment of economic, social\nand cultural rights, rights of the child, rights of persons with disabilities and gender equality, in line with\nMalawi's international human rights commitments."}, {"bbox": [143, 358, 1086, 412], "category": "Text", "text": "The action will be implemented using direct management - for grants to the Government of Malawi and Technical Assistance to the programme - and indirect management with the Government of Malawi."}, {"bbox": [143, 438, 399, 464], "category": "Section-header", "text": "# 1 CONTEXT ANALYSIS"}, {"bbox": [143, 478, 421, 508], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 1.1 Context Description"}, {"bbox": [143, 518, 1086, 680], "category": "Text", "text": "Malawi is one of the world's poorest countries trapped in a low income and low productivity equilibrium with a population of approximately 17.6 million in 2018. The UNDP Human Development Index (HDI) for 2017 ranks Malawi at 171 out of 189 countries, the 3rd lowest in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). Malawi's population growth of 2.9% per year has significant footprint on the environment, creates overstrained education and health systems, a lack of decent work, and high levels of unemployment."}, {"bbox": [143, 691, 1086, 1037], "category": "Text", "text": "Progress has been made in social and human development over the last decade, along with important economic and structural reforms to sustain economic growth rates but population growth has severely impacted socio-economic progress as public demand for social services, including education, has surpassed the level of investment for sustainable development. The 2018 Education Sector Performance Report (ESPR) indicated that over 700 000 new learners enter the education system every year but the sector is unable to absorb and retain them. Poverty remains widespread with 50% of the population living below the poverty line and 25% in extreme poverty – the majority of ultra-poor households (living on USD 1.90 per day or less) are female- or child-headed households. The economy is largely undiversified and vulnerable to both domestic political and governance shocks and external climate-related natural shocks such as floods and drought. The country's natural resources are not optimally used, or are used in a non-sustainable way. Malawi attracts limited foreign investment, although inflows have increased since 2016. Despite the huge sums of official development assistance (ODA) received, the country's progress remains very slow."}, {"bbox": [143, 1048, 1086, 1338], "category": "Text", "text": "Malawi has a Gender Inequality Index (GII) of 0.619 ranking the country 148 out of 189 in 2017 and a Gender Parity Index (GPI) for secondary education of 0.9, which represents only marginal improvement from 0.85 in 2013⁴. The rates of child marriages and teen pregnancies have affected girls' access and completion of secondary education. 42% of girls are married or in a union before the age of 18, the 12th highest prevalence rate in the world. In turn, the adolescent birth rate is as high as 29% for girls aged 15 to 19 years old⁵. This fact also has a major impact on secondary school dropout rates, which stand at 6.3% for girls compared to 4.1% for boys⁶. Against the 2013 Education Act, Malawi does not enforce compulsory education and, despite basic education being free, there are many hidden costs that inhibit access to education for all. Children living in vulnerable situations, such as children with disabilities and Rastafarian children, have been reported to be particularly vulnerable regarding equal access to education."}, {"bbox": [143, 1352, 1086, 1487], "category": "Text", "text": "Access levels to secondary education remain very low, with a transition rate of 38%, few opportunities for the poor, and an even lower completion rate of 21.9% nationally (24% for boys and 20% for girls). Malawi's education system is one of the least equitable, where 73% of public resources are appropriated by the most educated 10% of the population. This inequity goes further to significant disparities between the urban and rural population, as the urban appropriate 8.4 times more public resources."}, {"bbox": [143, 1497, 1086, 1553], "category": "Text", "text": "With 51% of Malawians being 18 years old or younger according to the 2018 census, it will be crucial to invest in education and skills development in order to accelerate sustainable development and green"}, {"bbox": [143, 1591, 552, 1615], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁴ Education Management Information System (2017)."}, {"bbox": [143, 1613, 457, 1637], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁵ GEM Gender Report (UNESCO 2019)."}, {"bbox": [143, 1635, 552, 1658], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁶ Education Management Information System (2017)."}, {"bbox": [608, 1675, 622, 1696], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "3"}]