By Esnart Chingwalu

Education policy analyst Limbani Nsapato has expressed worry over the low performance of special needs students in the 2021 Malawi school certificate of Education (MSCE) examinations.

This follows Tuesday’s announcement of the examination results by Malawi National Examinations Board (Maneb) in corroboration with the Ministry of Education.

The results, among others, have shown a decline in the pass rate of special needs students as out of 508 only 213 have passed representing a 41.93 percent.

Writing on his Facebook page, Nsapato said the results show that authorities should put more efforts in improving special needs education in the country.

“Girls and children are lagging behind in pass rates, and the gap between girls and boys has widened from 9%last year and to 16% this year,” reads part of his comments.

Nsapato further asked authorities to gear up efforts in improving the sector.

“There is a 16% gap between national average and performance of children withspecial needs, we need to do something,” he said.