The Mulanje district of Malawi has succeeded in achieving gender parity at primary school level, having attained an equal record with the successful enrollment of both boys and girls this year.
According to the District Education Manager (DEM) for Mulanje, Gossam Mafuta, this record is a positive development towards curbing gender inequality in the society and will also reach the end of illiteracy and child marriage among girls because the education of girls will lead to an increase in the country’s human capital and boost the economy.
“The enrolment figures show that we have slightly more girls in our schools than boys. We have a gender parity index (GPI) of 1.01 in primary school. This indicates that boys’ and girls’ enrolments are almost at par,” Mafuta said.
“In the past, the girl child has been denied education and this has led to challenges the country is facing at present, like the generation cycle of poverty, illiteracy and early marriages,”
“This is so because gender inequality in education affects economic growth by lowering the average level of human per capital and this puts the burden on the economy of the country,” added Mafuta.
