Ecam launches Adopt-a-School to curb child labour

Employers’ Consultative Association of Malawi (Ecam) has launched Adopt-a-School program to strengthen efforts aimed at ending child labour in the country.

Ecam programs officer Emmanuel Magomero said at the launch in Blantyre last week, the program wants to eliminate child labour through the provision of assistance to adopted schools.

“We want to ensure that the learning environment has improved. Unimproved learning environment leads to dropouts as kids are unmotivated to go to school,” he said.

Magomero added: “If we could manage to keep pupils in [primary] school by improving the environment and if we can keep them further through their secondary education, by the time they finish they will be around 18 years old where they can find something productive to do.”

The program which is a partnership for local communities, businesses and other organizations aims at finding ways to support schools for the benefit of both teachers and pupils.

In his remarks TNM human resource manager Michael Butao thanked Ecam for coming up with the initiative.

“There are a lot of challengers in the education sector, as employers we need to take a part to bring back kids to school by adopting a school and improving their learning environment,” he said.