Impact Evaluation of Malawi Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCTP)

  • R Research Project/Report/Study

I Inactive

Key Information

This study critically examines the patterns of school enrolment and attendance among children in Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCTP)’s households, identifies barriers to attendance (monetary and non-monetary), and proposes policy options and programme design tweaks to help improve the programme’s educational impact. This situation motivated a new study to critically examine the patterns of school enrolment and attendance among children in SCTP households, identify barriers to attendance (monetary and non-monetary), and propose policy options and programme design tweaks to help improve the programme’s educational impact. A mixed methods study was commissioned in 2019 covering three districts: Salima, Mulanje and Nkhata Bay. Quantitative data were collected from randomly selected onethousand five hundred households in six randomly selected village. Clusters (two from each district). Qualitative data were collected through focus group discussions with both in and out-of-school youth (15 to 24 years) and in-depth interviewers with caregivers in Salima and Mulanje. The Study recommends that: access to education for girls remains a major challenge among SCTP beneficiaries and provides the basis for dedicated policies to support girls. A higher school bonus for girls is commonly used in other cash transfer programmes and would be a straightforward option. Links with community mother’s groups, by providing them with a list of SCTP girl beneficiaries, would also help support girls’ education within the SCTP.


Lead Implementing Government(s)

Malawi

Location(s)

Sub-Saharan Africa

Malawi

Government Affiliation

Government-affiliated program

Years

2019 -

Partner(s)

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Centre for Social Research at the University of Malawi and UNICEF Office of Research.

Ministry Affiliation

Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare (MoGCDSW)

Funder(s)

Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau (KfW)

COVID-19 Response

Unknown

Geographic Scope

National

Meets gender-transformative education criteria from the TES  

Unknown

Areas of Work Back to Top

Education areas

Attainment

  • Primary enrollment
  • Secondary Enrollment

Cross-cutting areas

  • Economic/livelihoods (including savings/financial inclusion, etc.)
  • Gender equality

Program participants

Target Audience(s)

Girls (both in school and out of school)

Age

15 - 24

School Enrolment Status

All in school

School Level

  • Lower primary
  • Upper primary
  • Lower secondary
  • Upper secondary

Other populations reached

  • Boys (both in school and out of school)
  • Fathers
  • Mothers

Participants include

Not applicable or unknown

Program Approaches Back to Top

Reducing economic barriers

  • Unconditional cash transfers (including non-cash goods) to individuals/households

Program Goals Back to Top

Education goals

  • Increased enrolment in primary school
  • Increased re-enrolment in school among out-of-school children
  • Increased years of schooling

Cross-cutting goals

Not applicable or unknown