Schools reopen after cyclone disturbance
Ministry of Education Principal Secretary Chikondano Mussa says most of the 476 schools affected by cyclones Ana and Gombe will open alongside others as the second term of the academic year begins.
She said in a written response to a questionnaire on Saturday that some of the schools had their damaged infrastructure renovated and that learning materials and shelters were deployed.
“The ministry would like to assure learners, parents, teachers and all stakeholders that government is committed to ensuring that learning and teaching continues in safe and secure environment,” Mussa said.
Mussa said government has renovated 10 of the destroyed schools and distributed 30 tents to be used as makeshift classrooms in some schools.
Cyclones started hitting the country in January and continued this month, leaving a trail of devastation in 476 schools in 22 education districts, including in the worst-hit Nsanje and Chikwawa districts in the Shire Valley.
In some cases, textbooks were swamped while classroom blocks, teachers’ houses, latrines, administration blocks, libraries, kitchens and feeding shelters were flooded, causing varying levels of damage.
Mussa said: “The ministry with financial support from development partners supported schools with 454 school-in-a-box kits, 100 recreation materials, 35 635 notebooks, 35 635 pens and pencils and 400 portable chalk boards.”
Some of the schools were hosting displaced people, making it a challenge for classes to resume today.
But Mussa said in such cases, district councils were working towards finding alternative shelters for the displaced people such as camps or their homes where possible.
Meanwhile, education expert Steve Sharra has education interventions in the crisis-hit communities.
He, however, feared that government might not be able to retain the number of learners that were in school before the crisis.
Sharra said: “Encouraging learners to return to school after a crisis is a difficult process. Government records show that each year, three percent of the learners drop out of school due to natural disasters.
“Covid-19 pandemic resulted in about eight percent of learners dropping out both at primary and secondary levels. The cyclones could make matters worse, especially for the 22 education districts affected.”
He also said that the disasters could worsen the situation in the public education system which is already suffering from chronic, perennial shocks.
Today, primary and secondary schools nationwide are opening their 2021/22 academic year second term.
