By Kondwani Magombo

Lilongwe, November 04, Mana: Fourteen-year-old Tadala James, from Nkhata Village, Group Village Head (GVH) Chibungo, Traditional Authority (TA) Kalolo in Lilongwe, is among scores of learners that are proud to be part of the genesis of their school.

The learners are the pioneers of Chibungo Community Day Secondary School, located in TA Kalolo, Mapuyu North Constituency.

The school just opened its doors for the first time on September 16, 2024, at the onset of the 2024/25 academic year, upon the completion of the second phase of the construction of the infrastructure, sending the entire community delirious with excitement.

"I'm very excited to be among the first learners to be enrolled at this new school: this will go down in the history of the school, and my education!" Exclaims the teen student, beaming with pride.

The feeling is common among more than 60 learners in Tadala's Form One class - the only class, so far, at the new institution.

The construction and opening of the new school has muted the long-standing cries of the community of Chibungo, and surrounding villages.

For ages, long distance to available public secondary institution, Katsuma CDSS, had always been a challenge with no solution in site, leading to high dropout rates among learners.

But a glimmer of hope came in 2017 when Lilongwe District Council embarked on the first phase of construction, whereby a block of two classes was erected using Constituency Development Fund (CDF).

The second phase of construction of Chibungo Community Day Secondary School came in 2019, and it saw the construction of another 2-classroom block and VVIP toilets, using Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) Project funds.

The year 2024 saw the construction of administration block, water system aided by solar pump – all completed, and teacher's house, which was still under construction at the time of compiling this article.

Thus, with two complete classroom blocks, working water system, VVIP toilets and administration block ready for use, Chibungo CDSS became ready to admit the first intake of learners to start form one as the 2024/25 Academic Year rolled out.

The opening of the new CDSS has also ignited interest in those boys and girls who dropped out of school due to other reasons, including long distance to Katsuma, the 'nearest' CDSS then.

The returning of the dropouts is plainly evident at a glance as one can easily spot a number of 'older' learners in the pioneer class.

Among the back-to-school lot are Goodwill Kadeluka, Ganizani William, Mateyu Chipiliro, Hassan Chiwambo, and Denis Phiri, aged 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20, respectively, who dropped out and stayed for 1 - 2 years before enrolling at the new school.

"We were all at Kachiswe Primary School and we dropped out due to either lack of fees, or long distance to Katsuma CDSS," explains 20-year-old Denis Phiri.

"The coming of the school within walkable distance has enabled not only those who dropped out due to long distance to Katsuma CDSS to return to school, but it has also stimulated the parents and guardians of those learners who dropped out because of financial challenges to strive and source funds to send their wards back to school," adds Phiri.

It’s the ease with which the ‘older’ and ‘younger’ students mingle and accommodate each other that leaves a bystander in awe.

This is what they have been taught – to respect and treat each other equally, according to Willard Chirwa, one of the teachers at the new school.

"As a teacher, nothing excites me more than seeing learners who dropped out returning to school," Chirwa explains, and he adds: "So, other than being happy for being one of the pioneer teachers of Chibungo CDSS, seeing the dropouts back in class is so ecstatic for me."

Chirwa describes the enthusiasm among the pioneer Form One students at Chibungo CDSS as so encouraging that he is hopeful that a solid foundation for the school, regarding performance, is successfully being laid.

The new CDSS was long overdue in the area and its coming has made the community heave a sigh of relief as students from the surrounding areas will no longer have to travel long distances to Katsuma CDSS, as it was the case before.

This is why the community rose to the occasion when the Lilongwe District Council sought land for the construction of the new school.

“A total of 13 hectares of land was allocated to the school – enough for all needed infrastructure, including staff houses, and other facilities, such as school ground and wood lot,” explains Goodwin Chithengo, Chairperson for the School’s Committee.

Chithengo adds that members of the community treasure the new school very much and they stand united, and ready with any required support to ensure that the institution's operations run smoothly.

Such is how GESD project is changing people's lives through Performance Based Grants (PBG) that councils get from the National Local Government Financing Committee (NLGFC), the constitutional body that is mandated to mobilize, distribute and ensure efficient and effective utilization of financial resources among local authorities.

NLGFC provides councils in the country with additional financial resources for public investments based on individual council’s achievement of results.

Lilongwe District Council has had GESD PBG for three phases, with the funding of MK527 million; MK1.4 billion; and MK2.7 billion, respectively, according to the council’s Director of Public Works, Sydney Chiphaka.

The funding for the three phases has enabled the council to implement over 50 projects, among them, school blocks, health facilities, bridges and market shelters, across the district.

“We implemented 16 projects in Phase 1 with MK527 million funding; 20 projects in Phase 2 with MK1.4 billion funding; and 17 projects in Phase 3 with MK2.7 billion funding, explains Chiphaka.

He continues: “With the completion of these GESD projects, we have seen an increase in pupils’ enrolment in schools where we have constructed classroom blocks; reduced distances to the nearest health facility, following new health infrastructure; and increased revenue collection due to the market shelters that we have constructed.”

The 50-plus projects that the Lilongwe Council has implemented include bridges which, according to Chiphaka, have seen farmers transporting their produce to markets with ease.

The Director of Public Works further observes that, other than bringing the needed development to the community, GESD projects have created jobs for many in the rural areas where most projects are implemented.

But that’s not all: GESD’s PBG has stimulated the councils to compete in service delivery in pursuit of highest score, for yet highest funds and this, in turn, is helping the public get quality services.