Joy as headteacher gets decent house

For Jonathan Maluwa, teaching is not just a profession but a calling twinned with his lifestyle.

He has been teaching for a decade and Kamtambo Primary School in Dedza has been his home throughout.

This makes Maluwa one of the longest-serving teachers at the school in Traditional Authority Chilikumwendo where he has shaped the lives of thousands of children year after year.

From Monday to Friday, the dedicated teacher walked about five kilometres to get to school. He often braved scorching heat, heavy rains and biting cold to get to the learning institution with 890 pupils, 10 teachers, three classrooms and no house for the headteacher.

On average, each teacher served 89 students even though the Ministry of Education expects one to teach a class of no more than 60.

But Maluwa was not deterred by the long walk to his crowded school.

“I love teaching and contributing to the academic development of children,” he says. “Living far from the school I head made my work difficult. Many times, I got to work late even though I was supposed to get there earlier than everyone,” he said.

The gap compelled Dedza District Council to construct a house for the headteacher.

Now Maluwa has a decent staff house complete with a standard toilet, kitchen and electrical wiring, ready for connection. There is also running water.

 The World Bank funded the  housing project to the tune of K59.2 million under the Governance to Enable Service Delivery (Gesd).

Maluwa is now the first person to get to work and the last to knock off.

“The new house has allowed a Standard Eight teacher to come and live on campus with maximum supervision as they prepare for the Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education examination,” he says.

He hopes the learners will do we during their decisive examinations, which mark transition to secondary education.

Maluwa, however, says the school needs more staff houses for its 10 teachers.

Kamtambo School Management Committee chairperson Madalitso Khovani says: “It is pathetic that the school has been operating without teachers’ houses for decades.

“How can the performance of our children improve when teachers walk long distances and get to class late and too exhausted to teach?” he asks.

T/A Chilikumwendo says it was difficult to get hold of the headteacher, especially during weekends, because he was staying far from the learning institution.

“When we needed his services during the weekends, we had to wait until Monday. But now, he is within reach and in control of work-related affairs,” said the chief.

Dedza North West member of Parliament Ouzious Chidobvu hopes improved housing will lure more teachers to rural primary schools.

“When teachers walk long distances to school, they arrive tired and this affects their performance. Having decent staff houses within the school premises allows them to focus on teaching instead of being concerned about the distance they cover to and from school every day,” he explains.

Dedza District Council director of planning and development for Macpherson Mwakhwawa says most of the Gesd projects for the 2023/24 financial year have been completed and testify to improved service delivery to the communities.

“These infrastructural projects are meant to enhance service delivery in the targeted communities. With their completion, they will alleviate the problems in target communities and improve the livelihoods of the people in the district,” he says.

Gesd awards district councils grants based on their performance, especially efficiency, transparency and accountability in service delivery for the good of the citizenry.

“It is our goal to implement the District Development Plan in line with the expectations and the aspirations of the people of Dedza,” says Mwakhwawa.