Child protection takes root in Malawi schools

Schools are supposed to be safe places for education. But abuse by teachers, community members and parents can greatly affect learning outcomes in schools.

Plan Malawi has been implementing a child-protection project with funding from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and Plan Sweden.

Child-protection committees have been established in most Plan communities in Lilongwe, Mzuzu, Kasungu and Mulanje to deal with violations.

The community campaign in Mulanje exemplifies Plan's success.

Child-protection committee members visited households to check whether all school-age children were attending school. If not, they sat down with the families to find out why.

About 20 absent children were identified in the four communities and their families promised to send them to school by the start of the new term in January.

The committees also discovered young married girls. One 16- year-old had been selected at primary school to start secondary education, but she was too poor to attend and chose to get married.

She wanted to return to school, however, so the committee contacted Plan staff who are now discussing with the girl, her parents and husband, himself only 19, whether they will support her wish so that Plan can help with her school fees.

The community committees have also dealt with cases of school violence. These range from teachers meting out unreasonable punishments, to teachers having sexual relations with school girls.

As there are no police within walking distance in many communities, the committees also deal with crime, family issues and general assaults. But referrals to the police can cause conflict.

In one case a teacher made a pupil pregnant, but the community members and other teachers were not happy that the matter was reported to police as the school had to cope with one less teacher.

Finding life in the community difficult, the father withdrew the police complaint to the dismay of his daughter.

Plan's child-protection committees and civic educators experience similar problems and aim to develop techniques to resolve conflicts without putting such people at risk.