By Wakisa Myamba

Karonga, August 30, Mana: Paramount Chief Kyungu of Karonga and Chitipa districts has appealed for more investment in the education sector for the two districts.

Speaking during the official launch of Ramnent International Academy in Karonga district, Kyungu said education plays a very important role in development.  

“Let the people come and invest in primary, secondary and tertiary education by building more schools since education is the backbone of development for the nation.

“We also need investment in Agriculture. There should be an agriculture secondary school where students should be trained on various agricultural skills before being selected to upgrade at LUANAR,” he said.

He requested fellow local chiefs to avoid resisting selling out land to investors who plan to do social economic activity in the area.

Director for Ramnent International Academy, Rodrick Mhango expressed gratitude to the community members and the district council for their support towards his initiative of constructing the academy.

“I’m so grateful for the support the Karonga District Council and community members offered towards the construction of the academy. We are set to provide good services for the benefit of the district and the country,” he said.

District Commissioner Rodrick Mateauma pledged continued support towards promotion of education services that align with government standards.

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By Thank Falliot

Blantyre, August, 29, Mana: Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS) student, Tamika Mtawali died on Monday after suffering from   bone cancer at a hospital in Lilongwe.

In a statement on Monday by MUBAS Registrar, Ellias Chizimba said,Mtawali was a fourth year student pursuing Bachelor of Civil Engineering.

The registrar added that the student did not report for studies in the second semester due to illness.

“The burial will probably take place on Wednesday, August, 30 at her original home in Usisya, Nkhatabay” .he said

In an interview with Malawi News Agency(Mana) on Tuesday, Student Representative Council, General Secretary, Hope Banda said Tamika’s death was a loss to MUBAS , her family and the university.

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By Esnath Kalawe

Lilongwe, August 20, Mana: Mentors International Malawi on Friday awarded international certificates to 115 students after successful completion of a 15-week training course in different programmes.

Mentors International Centre of Education and Mentoring (CEM) is a high quality training centre which focuses on the success of its students sponsored by foreign donors, who understand that the only way out of the cycle of poverty is through providing education, and one to one mentoring.

The graduation provided foreign donors a platform to watch the function live via zoom.

Guest speaker, Leinhad Amos, Civil Engineer and Managing Director for XLT Construction Company urged the graduating students to be disciplined and utilize the acquired skills to allow them discover other opportunities.

“This is great motivation to see you graduating today. When you go out there, be committed, grab the opportunities and impress your employers. The skills learnt are highly interactive and will be used throughout your life in career advancement or building your own businesses,” said Amos.

Mentors International Malawi Country Director, Lameck Chisale was glad seeing students graduating after 15 weeks of hard work.

Chisale said it is an inspiration to many hence urged the students to work hard as they embark on altered prospects to be self-reliance.

In an interview with Malawi News Agency (MANA) one of the students, Thokozani Kumwenda, a Microsoft Office Essentials graduate, acknowledged Mentors International for providing the opportunity of high quality education hence assured to utilise the skills to positively contribute towards the development of the nation.

“We thank God for taking us this far. I have acquired great experience with Mentors International. The skills will help us be marketable in grabbing opportunities as we go out there,” said Kumwenda.

Mentors International is a non-profit charitable organization that aims at uplifting the less privileged students from developing countries by providing them with basic education.

Students attained different credentials in Microsoft Office Essentials, English, Keystone as well as Graphics and Designing.

By Blackson Mkupatira

Dedza, August 23, Mana: Dedza District Council Chief Education Officer, Julius Kamwanza, has hailed Edukans Foundation for a teacher mentorship project the organization is implementing in the in the district, saying it has reduced knowledge gap between teachers that have been in the system for long and those just coming from college.

Kamwanza made the remarks recently when Edukans donated five tablet phones to two secondary schools and three primary schools in the district under the school based blended education mentorship programme being implemented with funding from UNICEF.

He said while long serving teachers have experience, those that are coming from college have new sets of skills and that Edukans is providing a platform where they could share experiences and trends within education circles through mentorship.

"And we have seen great improvements in the 65 schools the organization is working with in the district. There is punctuality and a reduction in school dropout rate among learners, improved pass rate and a good working relationship between teachers," he said.

He appealed to Edukans to consider scaling up the project to target all 254 schools in the district and asked teachers to take good care of the gadgets and to share the knowledge they are gaining from the project with their fellow teachers so that they could move in unison.

Commenting on the matter, Headmaster for Kapesi Primary School Joseph Mtalimanja said the project has been fundamental in enhancing teaching skills and strengthening the relationship between teachers, learners and the community.

On the tablets, the headmaster said many teachers do not have smartphones so they will be using them for searching for relevant information on the internet.

On his part, Edukans Foundation Fundraising and Partnership Officer Daniel N'gona said the mentorship programme is targeting one thousand primary and secondary school teachers in Dedza with the overall goal of improving learning outcomes for students and promoting job satisfaction among teachers.

"Today as a pilot, we are giving five schools tablets so that they could easily access mentorship information online to mentor each other and students," he said, adding that this will improve the quality of education in the district.

The 10-month mentorship project is also being implemented in Salima, Dowa, Lilongwe, Nsanje, Chiladzulu, Thyolo, Machinga and Mangochi.

By Leonard Masauli

Lilongwe, August 25, Mana: Shortage of school materials continues to haunt some primary schools across the country as 1,600 learners at Nankhonde Primary School in Lilongwe have 19 desks only.

This was established during an Edukans stakeholder’s workshop at Golden Peacock Hotel in Lilongwe organized to check the progress of the School-Based Blended Education Mentorship Program (SBEMPro).

Highlighting some notable achievements and challenges, a teacher at Nankhonde Primary School, Edith Nyirenda, said despite positive impact of the mentorship programme, the school has also shortage of teachers and books, in addition to the desks.

"The situation is very difficult. However, we thank the mentorship programme by Edukans because it has assisted us improve our performance through teaching methodologies as well as leadership skills,” Nyirenda said, adding the school also has 16 teachers only.

He said despite these challenges, Nankhonde has managed to register 78 percent pass rate out of 77 learners who sat for standard eight exams, adding this is great improvement.

Director of Teacher Education and Development, Dr Zizwa Msukuma, said the programme implemented by Edukans has helped a lot in the improvement of learning outcomes, as it has proven in the recent national examinations results.

“We have noted improved performance of schools under the programme of Edukans. However, there are also challenges, especially shortage of teachers and learning materials and, as a ministry, we have taken note of that.

We have also set aside budget to recruit teachers in both primary and secondary schools to reduce the student-teacher ratio,” said Msukuma.

Country Director for Edukans, Dr Limbani Nsapato, said the mentorship programme has assisted to achieve results as seen in the improvement of the learning outcomes in both primary and secondary schools.

He said Edukans is implementing SBEMPro, with financial support from UNICEF, to improve learning outcomes in targeted districts like Dowa, Salima, Dedza, Mangochi, Machinga, Chiradzulu, Thyolo, Lilongwe and Nsanje.

By Leah Malimbasa

Chikwawa, August 29, Mana: Minister of Water and Sanitation, Abida Mia on Monday awarded 24 best performers from Chikwawa Nkombedzi constituency with cash and learning materials for their outstanding performance in the 2023 Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education to help them prepare for secondary school.

Mia handed out K40, 000 to each of 22 students and further awarded two other students with K60, 000 each for scored A’s in all the six subjects they sat for.

The two, Golden Nkumba and Paul Mwanima were selected to Blantyre Secondary School and Nkhatabay Secondary School respectively.

Applauding the learners, Mia who is a legislator for the Nkombedzi constituency said she awarded the 24 learners to appreciate their outstanding performance and hard-work spirit.

She therefore encouraged those still in primary school to work hard and achieve the same.

“I appreciate the importance of education in national development and I would like to see these children excelling academically and becoming doctors, teachers and other professions,” said Mia.

The parliamentarian also commended parents and guardians for providing education support to their children to remain in school as opposed to facilitating early marriage for the children at the expense of child education.

Mia further said was happy that Chikwawa district has improved in the PSLCE examination from position 30 to position 24 on national level.

“I’m happy we have moved from bottom 10 but it is my hope to see Chikwawa improve further and this is why it is important to encourage the learners to work hard,” she said.

Apart from money, each learner received various learning materials including school bags, notebooks, a set of mathematical instruments and ball pens.

One of the top performers, Golden Nkumbira expressed  excitement with the cash and items he received from Mia saying the money and the learning material will make life easier at  Blantyre Secondary School.

Chikwawa District Commissioner, Nardin Kamba thanked Mia for awarding the best performing learners,

“You have set a good precedent and our council will follow suit by rewarding best performers in the district to encourage our learners to work hard. We want to have educated people in Chikwawa and this is the starting point,” Kamba added.

Kamba further applauded the awardees, parents and teacher for their hard work and determination.

In his remarks, Senior Chief Ngabu expressed hope that the awards will encourage other learners to work hard, adding that the best performing learners deserved the awards for making it to secondary school with good grades.

“It is not easy to be selected to secondary schools, these learners need to be encouraged and supported to stay in school and complete their studies,” he said.

The 24 learners awarded from Goma and Ngabu zone,  have been selected to Blantyre Secondary School, Nkhatabay Secondary School, Chaminade Secondary School, Robert Blake Secondary School, Chikwawa Secondary School, Ngabu Secondary School and Chapananga Secondary School.

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By Lawrence Chilomo

Chikwawa, August 26, Mana: Chikwawa District Council held Day of the African Child 2023 with a call for parents, guardians and influential local leaders to protect children from digital induced abusers and all forms of abuse and violence.

Speaking during the commemoration at Phingo Primary School  Traditional Authority Maseya in district,  Council Chairperson, Wyson Bush said  he was concerned that some parents were irresponsible over their children well-being.

Chikwawa district commemorated the Day of the African Child under the theme ‘The Rights of the Child in the Digital Environment’.

Bush observed that some parents fail to protect their children from social media induced abuse that impact on their education and well-being due to lack of parental guidance and care.

“Parents should not be held responsible for violation of rights of children because children’s success in future depends on their rights being respected and well protected,” said Bush.

He further appealed to parents and guardians to encourage their children to work hard and remain in school.

“We have role models from various sectors to inspire children, These role models were once children and they worked hard to be where they are now. This means it is possible to be whatever you want to be in life,” added Bush.

District Social Welfare Officer Aaron Macheka said the event was important because it raised community awareness about children’s rights and  also helped children to realise their rights and responsibilities.

“Our office will ensure that children are safe from any kind of abuse and will ensure that all that violates children’s rights are arrested,” said Macheka.

He also observed that children are exposed to technology, adding that parents should be responsible for children safety from bad contents on the internet that can negatively influence bad behaviour.

Principal Education Officer, Chipiliro Mataka Zainga announced during the event that selected schools in Chikwawa will receive tablets for learning.

“For now the tablets will be distributed to a few schools and later the initiative will be extended to other schools,” said Zainga.

A learner at Kalima Primary School, Alina Mpingasa said the technology will help leaners to excel academically as learning through tablets will help them to advance in education.

The international Day of African Child commemorations in Chikwawa were spiced up by poems, drama and dances among other things. Mana /lc/lm/ewc/scm

By Brenda Nkosi

Thyolo, August 11, Mana: President Dr Lazarus Chakwera has emphasised on the need for university students to be innovative and create enterprises and industries in order to strengthen capacity of institutions and organisations.

The President made the remarks Friday at Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) in Thyolo during the graduation of 420 students from the university.

Chakwera, who is Chancellor for MUST, said the graduates have endless opportunities and great responsibilities hence the need for them to put that into practice.

“You have a responsibility to serve your country with integrity, dedication and sacrifice. You have the opportunity and responsibility to do great and unimaginable things and to put Malawi on the map by outperforming other nationalities,” he said 

He said a college graduate is a privilege, a responsibility and an opportunity which needs to be taken seriously.

"I say it is a privilege because in every nation on earth, only a minority get the chance to enroll into an institution of higher learning," he said.

Vice Chancellor for MUST, Prof. Address Malata disclosed that the university will call back all needy students so that they are offered the courses they were selected in on scholarship by MUST.

"We are, in September launching 'Come back to campus' initiative which will recall back all students who could not afford school fees and were withdrawn," she said.

Of the 420 graduates, 45 got distinctions from the 24 degree courses offered at the institution.

By Esnath Kalawe

Lilongwe, August 20, Mana: Mentors International Malawi on Friday awarded international certificates to 115 students after successful completion of a 15-week training course in different programmes.

Mentors International Centre of Education and Mentoring (CEM) is a high quality training centre which focuses on the success of its students sponsored by foreign donors, who understand that the only way out of the cycle of poverty is through providing education, and one to one mentoring.

The graduation provided foreign donors a platform to watch the function live via zoom.

Guest speaker, Leinhad Amos, Civil Engineer and Managing Director for XLT Construction Company urged the graduating students to be disciplined and utilize the acquired skills to allow them discover other opportunities.

“This is great motivation to see you graduating today. When you go out there, be committed, grab the opportunities and impress your employers. The skills learnt are highly interactive and will be used throughout your life in career advancement or building your own businesses,” said Amos.

Mentors International Malawi Country Director, Lameck Chisale was glad seeing students graduating after 15 weeks of hard work.

Chisale said it is an inspiration to many hence urged the students to work hard as they embark on altered prospects to be self-reliance.

In an interview with Malawi News Agency (MANA) one of the students, Thokozani Kumwenda, a Microsoft Office Essentials graduate, acknowledged Mentors International for providing the opportunity of high quality education hence assured to utilise the skills to positively contribute towards the development of the nation.

“We thank God for taking us this far. I have acquired great experience with Mentors International. The skills will help us be marketable in grabbing opportunities as we go out there,” said Kumwenda.

Mentors International is a non-profit charitable organization that aims at uplifting the less privileged students from developing countries by providing them with basic education.

Students attained different credentials in Microsoft Office Essentials, English, Keystone as well as Graphics and Designing.

By Kondwani Magombo _ Mana

Lilongwe, August 19, Mana: Namatubi Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) in TA Mwaulambia in Chitipa; and Junju CDSS in TA Kachulu in Rumphi, have got a thing in common. The two institutions are both failing to enroll learners to the full capacity of 200 due one reason: most of the institutions’ feeder primary schools are very far away, hence the selected students end up dropping out along the way.

“We have lost some of our students – especially girls – either due to transfers, or they simply drop out and get married,” explains Namatubi CDSS Head Teacher, Manje Kondowe, adding: “Some girls resorted to self-boarding but, again, that was not safe for them and some of them ended up with pregnancies.”

The situation prompted the surrounding Senior Group Village Heads Chendo, Nyami and Zambwe, to mobilize funds for the construction of a hostel at the school to accommodate girls and ease their studies.

According to the Head Teacher, resources, including bricks, were mobilized and the construction of the hostels commenced up to roofing stage. Then Lady Luck smiled on Namatubi CDSS as Chitipa district council embarked on girls’ hostel project, which is at completion stage and likely to be ready when schools open mid-September.

The council is constructing the hostels with funds from the Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD), a US$100million 5-year project that Government of Malawi is implementing in district councils with funds from the World Bank.

GESD is aimed at strengthening Local Authorities (LAs) institutional performance, responsiveness to citizens and management of resources for service delivery in all councils across the country.

“The girls hostel which the council is constructing for us through GESD has 16 rooms and each room has the capacity to accommodate 4 beds,” explains Kondowe, adding: “The hostel has everything in terms of toilets, bathrooms, and laundry. We have even asked government to increase the selection to our school because we can now accommodate the girls.”

Now that the girls will have their own boarding facility, the community-led hostel project is not stalling as the three Senior Group Village Heads and their subjects have agreed to maintain it and turn it into a boys’ hostel.

Chitipa district council also boasts about teachers’ houses at Namteya and Nkhanga schools, Kameme Extension Planning Area (EPA) offices, and 2 markets shades, each with 40 vending spaces at the Boma – all implemented with GESD’s funds, according to the council’s Director of Finance (DoF) Gift Msowoya.

Unlike Namatubi CDSS, Junju CDSS in Rumphi has the least enrolment of 70 students out of the 200 that the institution has the capacity to enroll.

According to the school’s Head Teacher, Jimmy Msiska, some feeder schools are as far as 14km away and this has always kept students, especially girls, dropping out of school.

But, like Namatubi, Junju CDSS is likely to hit the bar in enrolment this coming school year as Rumphi district council is also constructing a 20-room girls’ hostel with a capacity of 80 beds, courtesy of GESD funds.

“We are very grateful that the council heeded our plea for a girls’ hostel,” explains Msiska. “Our enrolment is just at 70; that’s 32 girls and 38 girls, but with the coming in of the hostel, I’m very certain the enrolment will improve and so will the performance of the school.”

Other than the girls’ hostel at Junju, Rumphi district council also touts other GESD projects including market sheds at Phwezi and Katowo, a pharmacy at Rumphi District Hospital, youth resource Centre at Rumphi Stadium, and agricultural Extension Planning Area (EPA) offices at Mlowe, just to mention some.

In Nkhotakota, the district council is also implementing real life-changing projects under GESD. For the first time in the history of decades-old Nkhunga Health Centre at Dwangwa, two admission wards, one for male, and one for female, are near completion.

The construction of the admission wards is the most welcome news among the members of the community as they see themselves no longer paying hefty costs to get to Nkhotakota District Hospital when referred for admission.

“Every time a patient is referred to Nkhotakota District Hospital they pay up to MK14,000 for a return ticket on public transport, which is too high for someone living in the village where resources are meagre,” explains 21-year-old Mary Ndeketeya from Kapendekera Village, TA Kanyenda.

According to the facility In-Charge, Fanny Kabango, Nkhunga Health Centre serves a population of 52 thousand, thus the two 14-bed-each admission wards is of great convenience to the surrounding communities.

Other than the admission wards, Nkhotakota district council is also implementing other projects including a market shed at Benga, and a stadium at the Boma, among others, under GESD.

In Lilongwe, the district council has implemented a number of projects with GESD funds for the past two financial years but some of those directly impacting the lives of people include, Chitsime Health Centre in TA Chiseka, classroom blocks for Phiri La Njuzi, and Mwenda primary schools in TAs Masumbankhunda and Chiseka, respectively.

According to the council’s DoF, Charles Mhone, the projects have changed the people’s lives as they can now access health services, while pupils who were learning outside now have classroom blocks.

“The Phiri La Njuzi, and Mwenda school blocks were both completed on time; desks were provided, and over 1,000 learners who were learning outside now have classrooms,” explains Mhone.

He adds, “On the other hand, Chitsime Health Centre is a flagship project for us as it will provide rural hospital status as it has maternity, OPD, laboratory – all the infrastructure required for a rural health Centre are there.”

A Health Surveillance Assistant (HAS) at the health Centre, Happiness Dalikeni, concurs with Mhone, saying the health facility will serve people from Kalumba, Chadza, Malili and Chiseka who, previously, had to go all the way to Bwaila Hospital in Lilongwe to get health services.

GESD projects have also made a notable impact in Thyolo where the council is implementing 10 projects from the previous funding of 2021/2022.

The 10 projects include two health facilities; one market center with two sheds, 8 kiosks, and VIP pit latrine; five teachers’ houses, and an irrigation scheme, among others.

Some of the projects are completed and in use, while other projects are at completion stage, according to the council’s DoF, Andrew Jafali.

Of the projects that are completed and functional in Thyolo, it is, perhaps, the irrigation scheme that has brought the much needed salvation to the communities in the aftermath of Cyclone Freddy.

“Some completed projects are already changing people’s lives: for instance, the irrigation scheme is a real-life-saving project,” explains Jafali, and he continues: “It reaches out to 175 hectares, and it is benefiting 2,500 households in the community that we are implementing – that is well over 10,000 people.

According to Jafali, the farmers working on the scheme were, at the time of the visit to the council (end July), harvesting their first crop since Cyclone Freddy devastation.

“After Cyclone Freddy the farmers went straight into irrigation farming and they are now harvesting and we are expecting a thousand-plus bags of maize, and a thousand plus bags of beans as we speak,” explains the DoF.

Since its inception in 2020, GESD has dotted the nation with variously service delivery projects through Performance Based Grant (PBG) that is awarded to the district councils to supplement the District Development Fund (DDF).

According to NLGFC, for PBG 1, a total of MK4.9 billion was disbursed to 24 councils for implementation of 152 projects, while for PBG 2, a total of MK13.7 billion was disbursed in two tranches (first MK8.3 billion to 25 councils, and secondly, MK5.4 billion to 24 councils) for implementation of 273 projects.

For PBG 3, approximately MK20 billion has been allocated to 25 councils that have qualified, with over 190 projects expected to be implemented.

Thus since GESD’s inception in 2020, a total of MK38.6 billion has been disbursed to councils to fund a total of 615 projects across the country.