By Blackson Mkupatira

Chiradzulu, August 21, Mana: People of Nyandule Village under Traditional Authority Sandareki in Chiradzulu District have expressed gratitude to Chiradzulu District Council for constructing a classroom block in the area, which will lead to the introduction of Nyandule Junior Primary School.

In an interview with the Malawi News Agency (Mana) on Wednesday, Village Head Nyandule said that many children have been unable to enroll in Standard 1, despite being of school age, because they are too young to walk the long distances to the nearest primary schools.

"The closest primary schools from the area are Masanjala and Donde Primary Schools. Masanjala is over 8 kilometers away and across the river; so during the rainy season, when the river overflows, it was impossible for the children to cross, which promoted absenteeism.

"Donde is about 5kms and on the other side of the main road, which is also not safe to cross. That why we wanted at least a junior primary school so that these children would not travel long, unsafe distances to access education, " explained the chief.

He, therefore, hailed the council for fulfilling the needs of the people of the area and asked authorities to expedite the handover process of the classroom block, saying children are eager to start benefiting from the development.

Primary Education Advisor for Nduze Education Zone Kingsley Chapola applauded local leaders and community members for their active involvement in advocating for the school block and overseeing the construction to ensure it was completed on time and met quality standards.

"Once the structure is fully complete and the school opens, many children will be able to enroll in Standard 1 and 2. Dropout rate and absenteeism will also be reduced as the long distances have been the main reason students lose interest in education here," Chapola explained.

Chiradzulu District Council Director of Planning and Development, Henderson Kaumi expressed satisfaction that the construction of the school block is almost complete and that it has been built to meet modern standards.

He said the structure will have two classrooms, Standard 1 and 2, and will accommodate a minimum of 120 learners and is scheduled to be handed over to the communities by September 2024 for utilization.

"This is the development they wanted, and as a council, we are pleased to deliver it to them. Meanwhile, we are looking for additional funds to construct teachers' houses," said Kaumi.

Nyandule classroom block has been constructed with funding from the World Bank through the Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) under the Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) Project, at a cost of K62,094,782.10.