People in Traditional Authority Mwakaboko in Karonga District have formulated by-laws to protect children from marriages and other forms of sexual abuse.
The development comes hot on the heels of Karonga Diocese of the Catholic Church plans to construct a secondary school at Ngana to reduce long distances learners walk to Iponga Community Day Secondary School.
In an interview after presenting a biannual report at the area development committee (ADC) meeting at Ngisi on Saturday, Mwakaboko child protection worker (CPW) Willie Chitete said between January and June this year, the area recorded 116 school dropout cases.
| Jordan Simeon-Phiri
He said: “During this period 20 learners were trafficked to Tanzania, 27 children dropped out of school due to teen pregnancies, 55 left school for marriages while 14 left to engage in charcoal burning activities.”
In an interview, Ngisi primary school teacher Peter Kamyanda said the five feeder schools around Ngana have also stepped up extracurricular activities such as football, netball and athletics to entice those who dropped out of school to return.
On her part, Mwakaboko Women’s Forum member Josophine Msowoya said they have agreed to formulate and reinforce community by-laws to punish parents who do not send their children to school.
“There are a number of activities such as fishing, charcoal making, piecework at the border and in Tanzania and cultural practices that fuel child marriages and teen pregnancies,” she said.
T/A Mwakaboko said it was high time the area borrowed a leaf from Tanzanian authorities where community by-laws punish parents who do not send their children to school.
Karonga Songwe legislator Mungasulwa Mwambande (Malawi Congress Party) who contributed K500 000 for quarry production for the construction of the secondary school, commended community leaders for the by-laws.
