CBMP Analytical Report Part 1 - Transparency and Accountability ...

(TAP) in order to conduct a Public Expenditure Tracking Survey for the Education
Sector. The study complements information that the Community Based Monitoring
Project collects from service users (the demand side) using community scorecards
with detailed information from service providers (the supply side). The major focus of
the study was on the processes involved in administration of primary school teacher’s
salaries and how that impacts on overall service delivery in primary schools.
As a starting point to the study, it was conceived that one major variable regarding
teachers’ salaries be taken up as a case and indicator pointing at the efficiencies and
inefficiencies in the system [way before actual budget trucking] in order to have facts
necessary for probing at higher administrative levels of the Ministry of Education,
Science and Technology. Such indicator was the ‘Timeliness of Salaries to Teachers’.
This was conceived to track whether timeliness has impact on the delivery of
teaching services (whether timeliness of salary payment could have significant
impacts on teachers’ livelihoods and delivery of teaching services). Thus, as more and
more efficiencies and inefficiencies are unveiled in this indicator, it could be a pointer
to whether the MOEST system is working well or not. And, in turn this provides a
perspective and hypothesis for which researchers could stand by as they approach the
actual tracking exercise. The outcomes would give the researchers points for probing
in the tracking study.
1.2 Basic Understanding
The exercise/study is well positioned to contribute towards the Government of
Malawi (GoM) National Development Policy objectives by providing feedback to
policy makers and administrators on how the efficiency or lack of it in the
administration of teachers salaries actually affects delivery of primary school services.
This directly fits in the transparent governance framework through strengthening the
capacity of national, district and local actors, particularly the education sector
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