Malawi Teacher Professional Development Support (MTPDS) Program: Training Manual for Using School Report Cards by School Management Committees

The program is designed to support the implementation of the NPC, with a special focus on early grade teaching and learning in literacy. The training manual provides guidelines for facilitators who will train SMC members in the use of the school report card. The manual is designed to be user-friendly, with simple language and continual involvement of participants in short tasks. The training is hands-on in nature, allowing all participants to be directly involved in the completion of the school report card. The training is also set to be conducted in the vernacular language, giving more chance of active participation by all. The key elements of the manual include topics such as the importance of SMCs in monitoring and evaluating the NPC, how to record school particulars, understanding data on teacher and learner competencies, and how to capture the information. The manual also covers discussions on teacher and learner absenteeism, documenting the availability of teaching and learning materials, documenting teacher continuous professional development, and documenting community support to schools. The facilitators addressed in this manual are MTPDS Divisional Monitoring and Evaluation Officers. It is also envisaged that Primary Education Advisors (PEAs) can take on this responsibility in zones where MTPDS staff are not available. The importance of training SMCs in monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the NPC is emphasized in the National Education Sector Plan (NESP, 2007) and supported by the National Strategy for Community Participation in Primary School Management (NSCPPSM) (Malawi government, 2004). The data generated in the school report card provide a perfect launching point for the development of school improvement plans as envisaged in the National Strategy for Community Participation in Primary School Management (Malawi Government, 2004) and prioritized in the NESP (MoEST, 2007). The training is critical for sustainability of the monitoring and evaluation of the NPC by SMCs/PTAs. The training manual is designed to provide instructions on how the facilitator should approach a topic, including giving a brief background to the topic, expected outcomes, materials needed, and step-by-step instructions on how to proceed in the training. The manual also provides references where the facilitator can get more information. The training is set to be conducted in a way that allows all participants to be involved directly in the completion of the school report card. The MTPDS program is mandated to work with parents and communities to develop their capacities to support the monitoring of and making improvements in early grade reading. Engaging parents and communities through SMCs and PTAs in M&E work is a means to engage and reinforce these actors in understanding the fundamental questions underlying the M&E framework. In doing so, they also build their own capacities to monitor and collect information, which in turn will empower them to use that information at the school level.