Fourteen-year-old Grace Bonifesi from Nkhata Village, group village head (GVH) Chibungo in Traditional Authority (T/A) Kalolo in Lilongwe is among scores of learners who are happy for being part of their new school’s history.
The learners are the pioneers of Chibungo Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) located in T/A Kalolo in Lilongwe Mapuyu North Constituency which opened on September 16 2024 at the onset of the 2024/25 academic year.
This followed the completion of the second phase of infrastructural construction to the excitement of the entire community.
“I am excited to be among the first learners to enrol at this new school. This will go
down in the history of the school and my education,” said Boniface in an interview on Wednesday.
The feeling is shared among more than 80 learners in Bonifesi’s Form Two class.
For generations, the long distance to the nearest public secondary eduction institution, Katsuma CDSS, was a challenge with no solution in sight, leading to high dropout rate.
However, a spark of hope emerged in 2017 when Lilongwe District Council embarked on the first phase of the construction of a two-classroom block using the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
The second phase rolled out in 2019, utilising the World Bank-funded performed-based Governance to Enable Service Delivery (Gesd) project that saw the construction of another two-classroom block and improved pit latrines.
By 2024, an administration block and a solar-pumped water system were completed, alongside a teacher’s house, which was under construction at the time.
The school’s head teacher Victor Kamanga said “nothing excites him more than seeing learners who dropped out returning to school”, further describing the enthusiasm among learners as encouraging.
Lilongwe District Council director of public works Sydney Chiphaka said the council completed 72 projects across sectors, including education, health, transport, trade and security to the tune of K7.6 billion since the project rolled out in 2021
