On 29th August 2025, the Malawi Institute of Education (MIE) held an engagement meeting with Plan International Malawi to explore a potential partnership under the Girls Get Equal (GGE) project.
The five-year initiative, funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and the Girls Fund through Plan Norway, aims to empower girls aged 10–24 by promoting their rights, enhancing resilience, and ensuring they successfully complete their education.
The project will focus on key thematic areas, including:
- Skills and opportunities for youth
- Sexual reproductive health and rights
- Inclusive quality education
- Transformative Teacher Education (TTE) with a focus on Gender Transformative Education (GTE) to address systemic gender barriers.
During the meeting, Plan International expressed interest in working with MIE to develop training materials and conduct Trainer of Trainers sessions for officers in Mulanje, Lilongwe, Kasungu, and Mzuzu.
Speaking at the meeting, Thandeka Nkhonde, National Educational Technical Lead – Inclusive Quality Education (IQE) at Plan International, stressed the importance of engaging government institutions:
“As organisations implementing activities in Malawi, we don’t work in a vacuum. Our priority is to seek the best ways we can engage Government institutions to find better ways of achieving our mandate.”
Mr. Austin Kalambo, Director of Curriculum Development at MIE, expressed appreciation for the collaboration and reaffirmed MIE’s commitment to ensuring quality education for both girls and boys in Malawi:
“We value this partnership and will work together to mainstream Gender Transformative Education in projects and education across the country.”
Next steps will involve finalising a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between MIE and Plan International to formalise the partnership.