Students fight for construction of secondary school in Machinga

Advertisement
Junior Certificate of Education

A group of Malawian university students in Machinga district have petitioned government asking it to expedite the construction of a boarding school in the district.

Machinga does not have a government boarding secondary school and the students believe this is contributing to poor academic performance by students in the district.

The group, University Students Association of Machinga (USAM), has written the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) to seek clarification on whether the project that is underway in the district is indeed a boarding school.

Junior Certificate of Education
Dr. Emmanuel Fabiano: Copied with the letter.

In the letter, which has been addressed to minister of Education Dr. Emmanuel Fabiano and has been copied to the Parliamentary committee on education, the students have asked government to make a public statement clarifying the nature of the project and when it will be finished.

The group has also warned government that if there is still no boarding secondary school in the district by the end of this year, USAM will temporarily close Machinga Teachers Training College and use it as a secondary school until such a time when government will construct one in the district.

USAM communications officer, Rabson Assam , a fourth year student of Media for development at Chancellor College said in the past the group also petitioned the ministry on the need for a secondary school in the district.

In response, the ministry assured the group that government is building a boarding secondary school in Liwonde.

“Considering government is silent on its promises to our petition, we wrote the authorities a follow up seeking clarification on the whether the project is really a boarding school or mere buildings,” he said.

However, government is yet to respond to the latest petition.