A form three student at Mlodza Secondary School in Lilongwe is at risk of dropping out of school as his source of fees which is operating kabaza is not making profits.
Speaking with Malawi24, 18-year-old Davison Phiri said he has been paying school fees since form one through operating kabaza as his parents are too poor to pay for him.
According to Phiri, after passing standard eight examinations he asked his parents for school fees and they said they could not manage due to poverty.
“I was selected to Chowo Community Secondary School in Nkhoma, Lilongwe after passing standard eight examinations. My parents told me that they can’t manage to pay school fees.
“My parents are poor and they can’t afford giving me all school needs like school fees, accommodation, food, school uniform, books and other school necessities.”
Phiri then decided to go to the city where he secured a job as a bicycle taxi operator and he decided to use the money he earned to pay for his education at Mlodza Secondary School. However, the kabaza business has been failing of late.
“I have been struggling because of unpredictable demand on the market but with the little money that I have been sourcing from operating Kabaza, I have managed to pay myself school fees from Form one and now I am in Form three. The demand of customers is low due to high number of kabaza operators unlike in the past years when we were few,” he told Malawi24.
According to Phiri, who aspires to be an engineer, the problem has also arisen because the owner of the bicycle took it and the current bicycle that he has is in bad shape because of frequent breakdowns.
“I am not able to source money to be using at school and helping my parents at home,” He told Malawi24.
The aspiring engineer pleaded with people to help him so that he should proceed with education and become a key player in the country’s social economic development.
“I don’t know what I will do next term and the rest of my secondary level. Probability that I can drop out of school is high because I don’t have a reliable source of money apart from operating Kabaza which is unpredictable,” he said.
Davison Phiri comes from Nkhoma in Lilongwe district. Currently he is residing at Area 23 where he is working as a Kabaza operator and at the same time schooling.
