Education prospects for at least 11,000 students in 76 open secondary schools belonging to Malawi College of Distance Education MCDE is at stake because the college is failing to print instructional materials due to management problems that have rocked the college.

 Printing of instructional materials stopped in July last year because of the lack of qualified staff to assist in content editing and insufficient funding. The college’s new recruits the needed to be trained in development techniques of distance learning instructional materials were also hampering progress.

 The college has one expert in course writing and five recruits who joined the college in 2003 but are yet to be trained.

 The College’s principal Bethel Masauli, in a written response to Malawi News questionnaire admitted that the college was failing to complete a third of MSCE course materials for English literature, Chichewa language, Chichewa literature, Biology, Geography, History, Social and Development Studies, Business Studies, Mathematics, Physical Science and Agriculture that were drafted last year.

The college’s printing problems started emerging in 1999 after Education Ministry through its circular of March 25, its Open Secondary Schools after turning Distant Education Centres into Day Secondary Schools (CDSS) the previous year.

“The college began to develop Junior Certificate materials and the process was difficult because the college needed to develop materials in 12 subjects for the new curriculum from January 1999. Even by 2000, it was not possible to satisfy the Junior Certificate learners as only few modules in three subjects were produced,” said Masauli.

Masauli said the printing of materials was also affected by government’s decision through its circular PS/51 of November 25, 2005 to transfer the colleg’s printing machines to Malawi Institute of Education thinking that the machines would not be needed after the DECs converted to CDSSs.

She said the college needed to produce at least four modules per subject and this in principle translated into 48 booklets. The college’s funding at this time also fell to K5.2 million. The situation worsened with the retirement and resignation of some key personnel in course of development and production departments at the college.

Since 1999, said Masauli, the college has not printed full courses for Junior Certificate.

“The remaining parts of these courses are drafted waiting to be refined, edited, illustrated and typeset for printing. The college cannot proceed because of the reasons I have given you,” explained Masauli.

“The sad thing about this development is that at least our 11,000 students are failing to access quality learning materials and facilities,” she added.

According to the Senior to the senior Human Resource Officer Dicks Mfune, the college did not have funds for printing instructional materials in last year’s budget. He said the college received K15 million, half of which was spend on servicing debts. K1.5 million was spent on phones, K2 ,582,000 on utility bills. The remaining money was spent on other miscellaneous transactions.

Government advised the college to print all materials that were available in 2003/2004 form the K53 million funding the college received but that did not happen due to debts the college is said to have incurred.

 “As a result, we were forced to replace external travel expenses amounting K6,583,000 as printing costs,” said Mfune. Unfortunately, the money was also used in repairing machines. As for this year, Mfune disclosed that the college has received a budget of K31 million of which K16,105,400 is to used for printing instructional materials.

 But further investigations on problems at MCDE revealed that working relationships have also affected the college’s output.

 There is delay in printing of sets even if money is available. The principal tutor deliberately keeps instructional materials to himself instead of sending them to print,” alleged Mfune and Vision Designers Steve Chagunda.

 The principal tutor stayed here for a very long time and has been vying for the position of principal. Unfortunately, the ministry of has always taken somebody from outside to head the institution under his nose. I don’t blame him but perhaps the government. He could be frustrated,” alleged Mfune.

But Chris Laymaman who is principal tutor and head of the tutorial section also accused Mfune of withholding funds meant for printing the material.

Laymaman charged at Mfune wondering, “How can a man who is frustrated write 14 titles in last academic year alone? I am not frustrated but management is busy getting money for themselves rather than production.”

Laymaman who has worked for the college for 16 years is at the same grade, P7, with his action principal, Masauli.

Students who get instructional materials from MCDE have complained that they were losing out in the college’s mismanagement.

“I can’t access a complete MSCE course in mathematics and History,” complained Jonas Kansingwe of Thyolo who is doing home study and wants to write History and Mathematics next year to complete his MSCE. He said he now depend on friends’ notes which he described as not enough.