Teacher gaps threaten education in Malawi Prisons

Education in Malawi’s prisons is facing challenges as pass rates for both Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education (PSLCE) and Junior Certificate of Education (JCE) examinations declined in the 2025-2026 academic year.

Malawi Prison Service Public Relations Officer Steve Meke said PSLCE performance fell to 45.7 percent, with 27 of the 59 candidates who sat the examination passing.

This represents a decline from the 58.6 percent pass rate recorded in the previous academic year, while JCE results also dropped from 76 percent to 70 percent.

Meke said the Prison Service plans to recruit more qualified teachers to strengthen teaching capacity and improve the quality of education across its facilities.

“Going forward, we intend to recruit more qualified teachers to beef up our teaching staff in order to improve quality of education across all prison facilities in Malawi,” said Meke.

He also commended partners supporting prison education programmes and appealed for continued assistance to sustain educational activities across the country’s prisons.

The declining results highlight the challenges facing prisoners pursuing education and the need to strengthen teaching capacity to give inmates a better chance of academic success.