Investigating On The Effectiveness Of Implementation Of Readmission Policy Of Teen Mothers In Malawi

The overall purpose of this study was from an educational management perspective to explore the effectiveness of the readmission policy implementation in secondary schools in Malawi.Ministry of Education in Malawi introduced readmission policy in 1993,which was aimed at increasing access,retention and completion of girls and boys at primary and secondary education levels by giving a second chance to girls who drop out from school due to pregnancies.The analysis of the policy implementation in the selected schools is what formed part of the study.The study employed a qualitative approach,and standard open-ended interviews,documentary review and observation were used to obtain data from the district education officers,head teachers,teachers,teen mothers as well as parents to teen mothers.The data of the study was analyzed through coding.The findings of the study imply that,the readmission policy implementation in the selected secondary schools was and is still not practical to a high degree.The findings also revealed that the educational challenges faced by these young women range from social exclusion to the need to manage the dual responsibilities of motherhood and academic.Furthermore,the study results indicated that the policy is silent,and there is no awareness of the policy in most secondary schools and communities,due to lack of unclear policy guidelines,goals and objectives.The study findings also indicated that,there is no sense of ownership of the policy by stakeholders responsible for implementing the policy.Further,the study concluded that secondary schools’ policy implementation is not practical because,besides lack of policy campaigns in local community and schools,there are no clear implementation and monitoring strategies,financial,human,and legal resources.Therefore,this study recommended that the Ministry of Education redesign the policy,however,the ministry should not take this task alone,instead,all stakeholders during formulation,implementation,and monitoring and evaluation process should be included to create sense of ownership in them.Besides redesigning the policy,the ministry should ensure that the policy goals and objectives are outlined clearly,should provide all relevant materials to all key stakeholders and should initiate awareness and campaigns of the policy guidelines through all available means and media to the targeted group and local community in order to achieve effective implementation.In addition,the study recommended that,Malawi government should collaborate with nongovernmental organizations in dealing with existing misconceptions that readmission policy promotes sexuality among girls.This can be achieved by providing enough room to organizations to promote the benefits of the policy on both individuals and the country and to highlight goals that may be reached by teenage mothers if they are given enough opportunity and support to progress to higher levels of education.Altogether,these might help to develop a conducive environment in which teenage mothers may flourish with their academic performance through provision of sufficient resources,psychological and social support,which can help them to overcome inevitable challenges that badge out following their decision to return to school.