MANEB rolls out online system for efficient registration and payment for examinations

Malawi National Examinations Board (MANEB) rolled out an online system for registration of candidates and payment of examination fees in which it has partnered some ICT services providers and commercial banks in a bid to competently and efficiently handle the two exercises.

Thousands of candidates who will sit for 2023 Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education, Junior Certificate of Education and Malawi School Certificate of Education can now pay examination fees through Airtel Money, TNM Mpamba, NBM’s Mo626, NBS’s eazy bank and other online banking services offered by FDH Bank plc, Standard Bank and First Capital Bank.

The candidates can register on online portals specifically tailored for MANEB on computers and smart mobile phones provided in education zones and districts.

Speaking Wednesday in Lilongwe during the launch of the system, MANEB Executive Director, Dorothy Nampota, said the manual excel based registration of candidates and fees payment was archaic and problematic, resulting in undesirable incidences in administration of examinations.

“It was cumbersome and time consuming work, resulting in many errors. Revenue was lost as some school authorities could not remit examination fees to us. There was inflation of costs and stealing money from unsuspecting parents, guardians or students.

The new system is a result of our 2017-2021 strategic plan, which encouraged us to adopt technology in administration of examinations. We wanted to move with the changing times and meet the growing demand for improvement and efficiency in the provision of our services.

Already, we have seen some improvements with the new system, having piloted it in 19 of the 34 education districts in the country. Most notable, is remittance of examination fees to us, which is timely,” Nampota said.

In her remarks, Deputy Minister of Education, Monica Chang’anamuno, who was the guest of honour, commended MANEB for taking a bold step to change the old way of doing things.

“Once they had decided on a course of action, MANEB’s progressive leadership developed a plan. Today we are witnessing the successful implementation of that plan countrywide. Such innovative and focused leadership is to be commended.

I would like to underscore my ministry’s commitment to support the education sectors’ endeavours to digitize their operations in order to achieve excellence and effectiveness in service delivery. We anticipate more such digitization initiatives going forward,” Chang’anamuno said.

Equity with Quality and Learning at Secondary (EQUALS), a project aiming to improve quality of science and mathematics instruction in CDSSs, supported MANEB in developing the new system. EQUALS is being implemented by the Ministry of Education with financial support from the World Bank.

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