THYOLO, Malawi - Malawian President Peter Mutharika on Sunday announced free primary, secondary education starting from January 2026, while assuring citizens that his government is procuring 200,000 metric tons of maize from neighboring Zambia to feed more than four million food-insecure people in the country.

Mutharika made the announcements in Thyolo District, where he attended an annual cultural festival for the Lhomwe people.

The Malawian leader, who was sworn in on Oct 4 as the country's seventh president following his victory in the Sept 16 presidential election, described education as key to national development, urging parents and guardians in the country to ensure that every school-age child attends school.

"Parents will now have no excuse for failing to send their children to school. We want our children to be educated because without education, there can be no development," said Mutharika.

On food security, the president assured all Malawians affected by hunger that "everything is set" and that he had sent the country's minister of agriculture to Zambia to finalize the maize deal.