By Priscilla Phiri

Lilongwe, September 3, Mana: Member of Parliament (MP) for Nkhotakota Central, Peter Mazizi has expressed concern over the lack of space in secondary schools in his constituency saying it is contributing to students’ poor performance.

He made this statement during a parliamentary session on Monday, during supplementary questions to the Minister of Education.

The legislator highlighted severe overcrowding at Linga Community Day Secondary School (CDSS).

“Linga CDSS has 1,200 students against six classrooms, and each classroom accommodates 200. Let it be known that the issue has taken six years without being addressed, which has contributed to poor performance for the students. I therefore ask the Minister of Education to clarify when this will be addressed,” pleaded the MP.

In response, the Minister responsible Madalisto Kambauwa Wirima acknowledged the challenges in the education sector saying her Ministry is quite aware of the lack of space in schools that the country is facing.

“What Malawians need to know is that for so long, the education sector was neglected in terms of building new infrastructure. During that period of neglect, the population grew, which led to exerting a lot of pressure on the limited resources available, including infrastructure,” she said.

She further mentioned that some issues in the education sector contradict the country’s education policy and hence need immediate attention.

 “We have also heard that students are walking about 20 kilometres one way just to reach school, which is not only against the Ministry’s policy but has also contributed to high rates of school dropouts and put girls at a disadvantage,” she added.

She also highlighted that due to the country’s limited resources, addressing issues to close the gap in the sector has been a challenge, hence the need for more resources to promote education in the country.

Wirima further assured the MP that through the ministry’s partners and some of the projects currently rolling out in the country, Linga CDSS and other schools facing similar challenges will be considered.

“Currently, we are working on creating more space in our schools to reduce the pressure that is there in the country. Government is building about 10,000 classroom blocks for primary education, and we are hopeful that soon enough this will extend to the secondary level to solve the issue of space. We have a lot of learners who are not selected to secondary schools because there are no spaces in our schools, as well as not enough desks,” she said.

The minister assured Malawians that her Ministry will address the most pressing challenges once resources are available.