Policy Briefs

Quality early childhood education (ECE) increases literacy levels, improves school enrolment and achievement, and enhances developmental outcomes. While Malawi has been successful in its ability to expand early childhood education to 47% of the 3-5 year olds through Community Based Child Care Centers (CBCCs), there is still room for improvement. Over half of young children remain unenrolled in pre-school, and the quality of the roughly 12,400 CBCCs varies considerably with many centers lacking key infrastructure and materials. Furthermore, only 50% of caregivers have received training in providing pre-primary education.

The costs and benefits of expanding and improving early childhood education in Malawi