Malawi: Building a climate-smart education system for the future
Story highlights
- Malawi’s schools face increasing threats from floods, cyclones and other climate-related disasters that disrupt learning.
- Safety drills at pilot schools teach students life-saving skills while strengthening community preparedness.
- The Climate Smart Education Systems Initiative is building a more resilient education system that links national policy to local action.
"Investing in a climate-resilient education system is crucial for Malawi and is a national priority. It safeguards the right to education, protects learners and infrastructure, ensures continuity of learning and preserves public investment."
With the raising of a flag outside their classroom in Phalombe District, students immediately recognize the warning of incoming heavy rains, quickly take cover and then evacuate under their teacher’s guidance, following marked routes to designated safe zones.
The drill is more than a routine exercise — it’s a lesson in survival and part of Malawi’s pilot of new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for school safety. These procedures were developed through the GPE-funded Climate Smart Education System Initiative and implemented by Save the Children in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, the Department of Disaster Management Affairs and Malawi Red Cross.
When learning meets the changing climate
“Education is a vessel for awareness, knowledge and skill development. Climate issues should be taught in schools so children learn about climate change early and become custodians of solutions.”
Across Malawi, floods, cyclones, droughts, heatwaves and other climate-related events are disrupting education — damaging classrooms, destroying materials and forcing children to stay at home.
Quick facts
- Malawi is among the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, ranked 26th by the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative Index (2023).
- Since 2010, Malawi has experienced 16 major floods, affecting around 100,000 people annually.
- Half of Malawi’s schools are located in areas classified as having high or very high exposure to floods or droughts.
Source: Climate risk analysis for the education sector in Malawi.
Fannie, a 15-year-old student, remembers how a single storm changed her school day: “One day, heavy rains caused the rivers to flood. The roads became impassable, and the rushing water was strong enough to take lives. I couldn’t make it to school.”
Teachers like Dinesi Namagowa have seen the impacts repeatedly: “When disasters occur, learners can’t come to school. Classrooms, toilets, books and teaching materials are often destroyed.” In some cases, lessons have had to be held under trees or in leaking tents, making learning uncomfortable and difficult.
These local disruptions add up to a national crisis — one that drains resources and slows recovery after every storm.
“Malawi has faced many climate-related disasters. Cyclone Freddy in 2023 caused an estimated US$42 million in losses, and our education system is still recovering.”
Prepared to protect: Drills that save lives
To prepare schools for future disasters, Malawi piloted the new SOPs in five districts ahead of an intended nationwide rollout, forming a key part of Malawi’s Disaster Risk Management strategy. The procedures ensure that children and staff know what to do before and during emergencies, reducing harm and keeping learning going.
“During the safety drill training, we learned that when rivers flood, we should cross in groups [if safe] and when thunder strikes, we should find safe shelter.”
“Using schools as evacuation centers has long disrupted education in Malawi. The new Standard Operating Procedures help ensure schools remain places for learning, so classes can quickly resume after disasters.”
“When floods occur, people often seek refuge in primary schools, using them as safe havens. This inevitably disrupts learning. The development of these Standard Operating Procedures — and the capacity built through teachers — will go a long way toward saving lives, ensuring continuity of education for children, and helping us as a council respond more effectively when disasters strike.”
Developed through consultations with line ministries, departments, districts, teachers and children, the SOPs draw on a range of perspectives and align with Malawi’s climate strategy.
At pilot schools, evacuation drills bring the SOPs to life — testing readiness, refining procedures and building confidence among learners and teachers alike.
“Through this initiative and the development of Standard Operating Procedures, we have been able to introduce safeguards in schools. Children now know how to protect themselves during disasters, and our education systems are being built to better withstand shocks. Everything is connected — from the classroom to the resilience of the system.”
Building a climate-smart education system
The school safety drills at are just one piece of a much broader, coordinated national effort taking place in Malawi. Through the Climate Smart Education Systems Initiative, GPE in collaboration with Save the Children, UNESCO and the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP), is supporting 35 countries and territories to integrate climate change adaptation and environmental sustainability into their education plans, budgets and strategies.
Malawi is one of the first countries to engage with all seven components of the initiative, which reinforce the building of a system that can plan, finance and deliver education even in the face of climate shocks.
The process began with a climate risk analysis, bringing together ministries and partners to identify the most vulnerable schools. The findings informed Malawi’s Climate Change Strategy for the Education Sector and ensured education was included in the country’s forthcoming National Adaptation Plan — a key step toward unlocking climate finance.
“No single ministry can address the education challenges posed by climate change alone. Our collaboration with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change and the Department of Disaster Management Affairs demonstrates the power of shared commitment and coordination. This cross-sectoral approach has already achieved a major milestone: the inclusion of education as a priority in Malawi’s [forthcoming] National Adaptation Plan.”
“The Climate Smart Education Systems Initiative has laid the foundation for accessing climate finance because of its components. The climate risk analysis provided evidence; the climate strategy was costed and shared with the Department of Environmental Affairs. Now education will have its own chapter in the [forthcoming] National Adaptation Plan.”
Turning plans into protection
Climate risk analysis and the new strategy have informed a climate finance roadmap, which identifies new funding sources, including global climate funds to help implement these climate smart policies at scale.
The national climate change policies and plans for the education sector have also been complemented by guidelines for climate-resilient school design and a curriculum review that has produced sample lesson plans on climate change and disaster risk reduction.
The Malawi Institute of Education is now training teachers to adapt and deliver these lessons, ensuring students learn practical skills to respond to climate events in their communities. The cascading impact of systemic support down to the school level is already having a positive benefit for the resilience of students and their communities.
“Learners are vehicles for change — teaching them builds resilience in schools, communities and the nation.”
For students like Kondwani, that change is already personal: “I am not worried about disasters anymore, because I know how to stay safe.”
By working at both national policy and school levels, these activities are strengthening connections across the education system to better learning in times of crisis.
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