Mzimba girls appeal for hostel
Mabiri Community Day Secondary School(CDSS) communities in Traditional Authority (T/A) Mzukuzuku in Mzimba on Thursday appealed to government, well-wishers and development partners to construct a girls’ hostel at the school.
The locals made the appeal during a meeting with duty-bearers organised by the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP)
The community members said some girls cover long distances daily to access education which has led to dropout rates of as high as 18 percent.
Head teacher Charles Makamo said they have 140 learners of whom 78 are girls.
Makamo said this year alone 11 girls have dropped out of school.
He said: “Most parents cannot afford to buy bicycles for their daughters as such they cover long distances and do not concentrate in class.”
The head teacher said such girls end up in self boarding facilities where they are sexually harassed.
Twenty-year-old Happiness Tembo, who dropped out in 2013 while in Form Four, said she fell pregnant after a man who used to offer her lift to and from school on a bicycle pressured her for sex.
