Hostel motivates girls in Lilongwe
Girls in Traditional Authority Chitekwere in Lilongwe District have said the construction of a girls’ hostel at Chowo Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) will motivate them to remain in school.
The K96 million facility, constructed under the World Bank-funded Governance to Enable Service Delivery will accommodate girls who mostly rent apartments or walk long distances to school.
Speaking in an interview on Monday, Holliness Chanudza, a Form Four student, said travelling long distances to school affects their performance.
She said a lot of things happen on the way to school, including facing sexual advances from men.
“As a result, some girls drop out of school after becoming pregnant. Secondly, we fail to concentrate in class due to fatigue,” said Chanudza.
She said staying on campus will give them ample time to concentrate in their studies, thereby improving their performance.
“Our fellow students before us were getting poor results because they were coming to class tired after walking long distances,” said Chanudza.
Lophina Banda, who is on self-boarding near the school, said the hostel will provide security to the girls.
Banda also said the hostel will motivate some parents to send their children to the school.
The school’s head teacher Grem Majamanda said teachers are ready to look after the girls at the hostel and will not allow intruders to disturb them.
“It has been difficult for us to monitor girls in their rented homes
