By Levison Lester

Lilongwe, May 7, Mana: Head-girl at Nsaru Secondary School in Lilongwe Natasha Maoza has said the delay in completion of girls’ hostel which started over 13 years ago at the school is negatively affecting their Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) performance.

In an interview with Malawi News Agency (MANA), Maoza said studying becomes a challenge since most of the girls stay far away from school and they walk long distances to go to school.

She said, the delay has not only affected their studies but also their safety is always at risk.

“We are facing number of challenges due to the delays to complete the hostel. Many girls have left school because they have been impregnated. Secondly, for the past years many girls have been performing badly MSCE and Junior Certificate of Education (JCE). So our future is being ruined by the delays,” Maoza said.

“The construction started long time ago and the hostel is at standstill, nothing is happening on the ground. My worry is that if the hostel is not completed, many girls will continue to be denied right to education. I am urging government to complete the hostel because if the delay continues, then we will continue to be excluded,” She added.

Commenting on the matter, Head-teacher at Nsaru Secondary School, Bambiro Hadley Kumwenda said the construction of the hostel is at standstill because the government said the hostel is not in a modern state hence there is a need to construct a new hostel.

He added that the construction of new hostel was supposed to start in 2020 but up to now, the construction works have not yet commenced.

“As I am talking to you right now, there is nothing on the ground. The old hostel was abandoned due to what they say it was the issue of poor standards. The new hostel was supposed to be a jointly constructed by Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Malawi government. But currently we have learnt that JICA has its standards and the government is proposing different standards. So the delay is a result of misunderstanding between the government and JICA,” Kumwenda said.

Member of Parliament for Lilongwe North Constituency, Monica Chang'anamuno confirmed the development but said the delay was a result of poor foundation of the hostel.

"The hostel that started 10 years ago did not have the right foundation. It was a threat to the lives of the girls. That's why the hostel can not be completed," She said.

Meanwhile, Chang'anamuno has said the plans to construct a new hostel are underway, and once resources are available the hostel will be constructed.