CDSSs need 8 000 science teachers
Principal secretary in the Ministry of Education Anjimile Oponyo has said 8 000 science teachers are required for science subjects to be taught well in the country’s community day secondary schools (CDSSs).
Speaking in an interview recently in Kasungu during the swearing in ceremony of 19 peace corps volunteers, Oponyo said there are only 1 000 science teachers in CDSSs spread across the country, noting that this makes many students shun science subjects.
“We have a huge deficit of science teachers. As government, we have engaged the Mzuzu University (Mzuni) to help us produce 500 teachers every year,” said Oponyo.
She said the coming of the volunteers will ease the problem, saying they have already shown that they can teach sciences even using locally found materials.
“There has been a debate in the country on whether we should continue teaching sciences in CDSSs taking into account the fact that the schools do not have laboratories, but I am convinced we can do it. What the volunteers have shown us is most encouraging because they are using locally found materials like wires, dry cells, bulbs, vinegar and sodium bicarbonate to do experiments,” said Oponyo.
US Ambassador Jeanine Jackson said the volunteers will be assigned to various CDSSs where they will work alongside their Malawian counterparts to teach English, mathematics, physics and chemistry to strengthen academic performance.
More than 2 700 peace corps volunteers have served in Malawi since the programme was established in 1963.
Currently, 131 volunteers are serving in the country, working in the areas of education, environment and health.
