Agnes Nyalonje is a

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

an politician who has served as the country's Education Minister since July 2020.

Education

Nyalonje has a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Social Science from the

University of Malawi The University of Malawi (UNIMA) is a public university established in 1965 and until 4 May 2021, when the university underwent a delinking, was composed of four constituent colleges located in Zomba, Blantyre, and Lilongwe. Of the four colleges, ...

, a postgraduate diploma in personal and development from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

and a master's degree in literature from the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

Career

Nyalonje was a lecturer in linguistics at the University of Edinburgh and at the University of Malawi. She worked as a consultant for the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

and as country director of UNAIDS from 2002 to 2004. She was also a technical adviser to the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

in South Africa.

Political career

Nyalonje was elected as the MP for Mzimba North representing the People's Party in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. 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 The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...

. However, she withdrew from participating in the January 2019 primary elections. Nyalonje was appointed Minister of Education by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Lazarus Chakwera on 8 July 2020. She retained the position in a January 2022 reshuffle. 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, with only 6% of primary school students graduating to secondary school. Nyalonje oversaw the reopening of schools on 7 September 2020 after their closure in March that year due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In February 2022, she launched a Code of Conduct for teachers that seeks to regulate professional conduct across the education sector. In June 2021, Nyalonje was sent out of Parliament for not wearing a

school uniform A school uniform is a uniform worn by students primarily for a school or otherwise an educational institution.They are common in primary and secondary schools in various countries. An example of a uniform would be requiring button-down shir ...

as all other female members had done to mark the Day of the African Child and advocate for female education.

Personal life

Nyalonje is married to Robert Ridley, who is vice chancellor at Unicaf University Malawi.

References

External links

March 2022 interview with Nyalonje
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nyalonje, Agnes Living people Women government ministers of Malawi Education ministers Government ministers of Malawi People from Mzimba District Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Leeds University of Malawi alumni University of Malawi faculty People's Party (Malawi) politicians United Transformation Movement politicians Members of the National Assembly (Malawi) Year of birth missing (living people)