NGO promotes early education in Kasungu

Transformation Initiatives for Community Development (Ticode) has embarked on an early childhood development education project for rural children in Kasungu District.

Speaking on Friday during the launch at Mphomwa, Ticodeexecutive director William Nyasulu said early childhood development education for rural children is an essential tool in the fight against early marriages in the district.

He said most early marriages are due to inability of learners in rural areas to perform well in class, adding those who repeat classes get frustrated and opt for marriage. 

“One of the causes of early marriages is lack of education foundation for learners before they start their Standard One. We have introduced early childhood development education to prepare children for primary school,” said Nyasulu.

Y-Malawi executive director Larry Hall, whose organisation has partnered Ticode, said lack of early childhood development education also contributes to poor education standards.

“We have partnered Ticode to roll out the programme in the country’s 28 districts targeting rural areas to improve education standards,” he said.

Hanna Mwale, a Standard Five dropout and founder of Mazuwa Nursery School, commended Ticode for introducing the project in the district.

“I urge parents in the area to send their children to community-based childcare centres for early learning because it is a foundation of education,” she said.

In 2017, Malawi amended the Constitution to raise the marriage age to 18 for girls and boys.

However, reports indicate that early marriages in Malawi persist with Unicef records showing 46 percent of girls getting married before the age of 18 while nine percentage marry before 15 years of age associating the trend with limited education.