CBE is for children who are not in school. They might have never gone to school or they might have dropped out before attaining the skills of basic literacy and numeracy. CBE targets children between the ages of 9 and 13. Those who are younger than 9 would be encouraged to attend school while those who are between the ages of 14 and 17 could attend CBE classes if there are sufficient places. Since CBE classes contain children of different ages and who have reached different levels of schooling, the class size is limited to 40. CBE makes a careful check with the nearby primary school to make sure that the drop-outs have not been in school for over a year.

The course covers the syllabus of the first five years of primary school. The main emphasis is on the literacy and numeracy skills needed for all areas of the curriculum. Reading and writing a Malawian language are established first. English starts as an oral course but progresses to reading and writing. Other areas of the primary curriculum are included in a practical orientation covering Healthy Living, Citizenship, Livelihoods and Agriculture and the Environment.

The Basic Education Directorate of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology co-ordinates CBE. Districts select implementing agencies to provide CBE and monitor how well they are delivering the programme. The implementing agencies work together with local communities which are represented by a Learning Centre Management Committee. This comprises equal numbers of women and men.

CBE classes are held in a suitable building in the village. This may be a classroom of the local school when it is not otherwise being used.

Learners together with the Learning Centre Management Committee determine the best time of the day to hold classes. Some centres prefer to meet later in the day after household chores and other activities have been attended to. Others meet earlier in the morning which tends to encourage punctuality.

Results so far show that learners are able perform at the standard to which their curriculum has been matched. They are able to read and write in their own language by the end of the first year of the course. Other benefits mentioned by communities are improved behaviour and increased family literacy. Enhanced self-esteem enables the learners to make a greater contribution to their communities. Many from the first group of completers have returned to school and one even passed the Primary School Leaving Certificate examination on completion.

Malawi has made considerable strides in improving access to primary education. However, there are still a large number of children and youths dropping out of school before completing primary education. Only half of Standard 1 enrolments survive to Standard 5. The Malawi government recognised the need to address the learning needs of out-of-school children and youth in its Education For All plan. Education for All (or ‘Universal Education’) is also the 2nd Millennium Development Goal.

In addition to helping to achieve the Education For All goal, universal education is vital for all of the remaining Millennium Development Goals, which can only flourish with a well educated society. Consequently the C.B.E. programme has benefits far beyond its educational remit.

AYISE is implementing C.B.E. in the Zingwangwa and Limbe Zones of Blantyre Urban District. Specifically we are working in the following communities: Baluti, Kampala, Wikesi, Sumani, Naotcha, Lady Agness, Manja, Nselemu, Chiwembe, Kapichi and Kumembe. In these communities we have identified 410 children and youth who are receiving C.B.E.. We trained 15 facilitators to provide the basic education package to the 410 identified persons.

The selected CBE facilitators undertook a fifteen-day induction course before they start teaching. They meet for three hours every week to plan the next week’s work. Between each term, they attend a five-day training course to help prepare for the term ahead.

The facilitators are supported by Facilitators’ Guides, which cover in detail all the lessons to be taught. The facilitator is guided through every step of the lesson. Each lesson is linked where appropriate to the Learners’ Books. The guides help the facilitators to differentiate their teaching to suit all the learners in the class.

Facilitators are visited regularly by 2 Supervisors from AYISE, who visit all locations where C.B.E. is taking place at regular intervals. The supervisor watches the lessons and comments on what went well and what could be improved.

A one-day in-service training is provided weekly by AYISE, to ensure the Facilitators’ skills and knowledge are up to date. Between each term there is a five-day in-service training session, to intensively refresh and energise the facilitators.

To ensure acceptance by the local communities we held community meetings, and met with LCMC and PEA groups to ensure good communication and involvement all round.