Govt selects 120 students to an incomplete school
Parents and stakeholders in Machinga District have protested the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) decision to move 120 students initially selected to Machinga Secondary School, whose construction is not complete, to various community secondary schools (CDSSs) across the district.
The development highlights the challenges the education sector is facing despite government allocating K166 billion to the sector in the 2018/19 National Budget amid many unfinished school construction projects.
Machinga Development Association (MDA) spokesperson Brandon M’baya said in a telephone interview yesterday the parents and stakeholders were not happy with the ministry’s decision.
He said: “We engaged education authorities in advance, but they went ahead to select students when they knew the school was not ready. These students passed examinations with good grades. It is unfair to downgrade them and reduce their chances of going to university. Government should address this anomaly.”
In July the MDA petitioned the regional education manager for the Eastern Division to consider temporarily closing Machinga Teachers Training College (TTC) to accommodate the secondary school students until the new facility is completed.
But in an e-mailed response, MoEST spokesperson Lindiwe Chide, while confirming the development, said the ministry was working to normalise the situation.
She said: “The ministry indeed selected students to Machinga Secondary School. At the time of selection, we had anticipated that the school would be ready and selection had to be done at the same time as similar schools. Construction has delayed due to factors beyond our control.
“That is why we have reallocated the students to nearby schools. Once the school is ready, the students will move back to it.”
She added that to temporarily use Machinga TTC as a secondary school was not practical.
“It would not be wise to close Machinga TTC as we have a shortage of teachers. We are working hard to ensure that the school is ready as soon as we can and parents should not be worried,” said Chide.
In a separate interview, quality education advocate Steve Sharra described government’s handling of the education sector as “problematic”.
He said: “The bigger picture is that cases of this nature only demonstrate the inefficiency and lack of seriousness within the establishment. This does not only demoralise the students but ultimately disturbs them.”
Sharra noted that already, Malawi has a big mismatch between primary and secondary school enrolment.
