Smooth road to primary school
Amidu Sipiliyano is only three years old. However, listening to him say a prayer in English, one may think he has done a few years of primary school. Yet he is only in nursery school at Chisamba Child-based Care Centre (CBCC) at Chisamba Village, Traditional Authority Chadza in Lilongwe. As if that is not enough, Amidu is able to name all alphabet letters and count figures from zero to nine. A sample of pupils at Chiwiri Primary School, which is close to Chisamba Village, reveals there are two categories of pupils— those who are active throughout the learning process and those who just sit and listen to their teacher, almost looking at the learning period as tough and irksome.
“Most of the active and intelligent pupils here at primary school are those who attended CBCCs, which offer early childhood development (ECD) lessons, before starting primary school. Those who seem to have learning difficulties are usually those who did not go through CBCC,” says Gervazio Chikosa, a Standard One teacher at the school. But what do these children exactly learn at CBCC to make them admirable and bright? Chimwemwe Moses, a voluntary caregiver at Chisamba CBCC explains that the children’s noise does not mean they are troublesome. “I teach them English language, how to jump, how to cover their mouth when coughing—generally how they can interact with people in society.
This makes them clever. They greet people and they are also taught discipline,” says Moses. Christon Kachala echoes Chikosa on the impact of CBCCs. Kachala says his daughter went through an ECD programme and now she is in Form One at Nkhamenya Girls Secondary School. He adds that CBCC helped his daughter to pass through primary school with ease. “My daughter did not repeat any class in primary school,” says Kachala. Lilongwe social welfare officer Samuel Phiri, whose office has been working with several organisations that promote ECD in Lilongwe, says he is optimistic that more children will get a good foundation for education because of the time they spend at CBCC. “Many people now realise the importance of sending children to CBCC. When a child passes through CBCC, primary school teachers do not find it difficult to teach such children,” says Phiri.
Looking at the work the likes of Moses do, one may think they earn a fat package at the end of the month. But despite their important contribution to child development, they are just volunteers. “I do this because I have a great passion for teaching and seeing children grow intellectually. Many people in my village laugh at me because I do a job which does not bring even a single coin,” laments Moses. Word Alive Commission for Relief and Development (WACRD) is one of the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) promoting ECD in Lilongwe. WACRD director Patricia Semphere says there is need for NGOs and government to consider introducing salaries for caregivers in CBCCs.
Speaking at the opening week of ECD in Lilongwe recently, Semphere said: “Caregivers are doing a commendable work; therefore, it can be a great motivation to them if they get some reward in return for their services.” Semphere’s suggestion is repeated by Association of Early Childhood Development in Malawi (AECDM) project officer Alinafe Kamdonyo. “We should not look only at the good results of CBCCs, but we should also look at people who are sacrificing their time to teach these children. There is need for all stakeholders to come together and look into this issue,” says Kamdonyo. Principal secretary in the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare Dr. Mary Shawa says government is discussing salaries for caregivers. “We are looking into the issue of salaries for caregivers. We are also looking for possible help from donors so that they can help on this issue. I hope it will work,” says Shawa.
