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Agnes Nyalonje

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Agnes Nyalonje is a Malawian politician who has served as the country's Education Minister since July 2020.

Education

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Nyalonje has a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Social Science from the University of Malawi, a postgraduate diploma in personal and development from the University of Edinburgh and a master's degree in literature from the University of Leeds.[1]

Career

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Nyalonje was a lecturer in linguistics at the University of Edinburgh and at the University of Malawi.[1] She worked as a consultant for the World Bank and as country director of UNAIDS from 2002 to 2004.[1] She was also a technical adviser to the World Health Organization in South Africa.[1]

Political career

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Nyalonje was elected as the MP for Mzimba North representing the People's Party in 2014.[1][2] She joined the newly formed UTM Party in October 2018, saying she was seeking to "fight rampant corruption" and overthrow the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.[3] However, she withdrew from participating in the January 2019 primary elections.[4]

Nyalonje was appointed Minister of Education by President Lazarus Chakwera on 8 July 2020.[5][6] She retained the position in a January 2022 reshuffle.[7] On commencing the role, Nyalonje said her priority was to overhaul the country's "rotten and archaic" education system, which has one of the lowest transition rates in the world,[8] with only 6% of primary school students graduating to secondary school.[9]

Nyalonje oversaw the reopening of schools on 7 September 2020 after their closure in March that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[10] In February 2022, she launched a Code of Conduct for teachers that seeks to regulate professional conduct across the education sector.[11] In June 2021, Nyalonje was sent out of Parliament for not wearing a school uniform as all other female members had done to mark the Day of the African Child and advocate for female education.[12]

Personal life

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Nyalonje is married to Robert Ridley, who is vice chancellor at Unicaf University Malawi.[1][13]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Maloya, Draxon (10 July 2020). "Know Your Newly Appointed Cabinet Ministers". Vomi Radars. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  2. ^ Mtawali, Wanangwa (9 June 2018). "MP Nyalonje occurs govt of being insensitive to people's needs". Nyasa Times. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  3. ^ Mtungila, Patricia (30 October 2018). "Mzimba North MP dumps PP for UTM: Brands DPP a party of crooks". Malawi 24. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  4. ^ Mtungila, Patricia (31 December 2018). "MP Nyalonje pulls out of UTM primaries". Nyasa Times. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  5. ^ Mkandawire, Mwayi (8 July 2020). "Chakwera names cabinet: Mtambo, Kazako and Usi appointed Ministers". Malawi 24. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  6. ^ Ndalama, Owen (9 July 2020). "Nsapato hails Chakwera for entrusting women to lead Education ministry". Malawi 24. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  7. ^ "President Chakwera in partial cabinet reshuffle". Nyasa Times. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  8. ^ Khamula, Owen (24 July 2020). "Minister Nyalonje set to overhaul rotten Malawi education system". Nyasa Times. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  9. ^ Tembo, Fazilla (1 November 2021). "Minister Nyalonje laments high primary school dropouts". Nyasa Times. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  10. ^ "Statement by Minister of Education, Hon. Agnes Nyalonje, on Re-Opening of Schools, Colleges, Universities and International Schools on 27 August, 2020 in Lilongwe". United Nations. 30 August 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  11. ^ Nsaliwa, Mercy (14 February 2022). "Ministry of Education launches teachers' code of conduct". Malawi 24. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  12. ^ "Malawi: Education Minister Nyalonje Thrown Out of Parliament". Nyasa Times. All Africa. 29 June 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  13. ^ "Robert Ridley". Flame Tree Initiative. 3 May 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
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