North Malawi protest against ‘education genocide’, demand abolition of quota system

Northern Region was on standstill on Thursday as people went to the streets to hold demonstrations against the quota system of selecting learners to public schools and they have demanded  the government to abolish the system.

The anti-Quota protesters feel the system was put in place to oppress people in the North and some are sayin it is “education genocide”.

Coordinator of the movement Charles Kajoloweka, who is also executive director of Youth and Society (YAS), said they resolved to hold protests across the region because they feel some students in the Northern Region are being denied their constitutional right to education.

He told crowd of protesters in Mzuzu City thar government should abolish the quota system which they feel has also been applied in this year’s secondary school selection.

Kajoloweka said people in the region are not happy that  a number of learners from the Northern Region have been denied places in national secondary schools.

“We demand that government should abolish the quota system. We are also challenging the Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education (PSLCE) results that government should re-do the selection,” he said.

Dan Msowoya one of the organisers warned that if government will not abolish the quota system and nullify the secondary school selection, learners selected to secondary schools this year will not be allowed to access the schools.

He saidno student in the Northern Region has been selected to any Southern and Central region secondary school, while many students from the two regions have been given places in Northern Region secondary schools.

The peaceful protests by Quota Must Fall Movement with support from the Church of Central Africa Presbytery (CCAP) were held mostly in Mzuzu City and Karonga District.

Rumphi people have arranged to stage the protests on Friday because Thursday was their market day.

Ministry of Education, Science and Technology Principal Secretary Justin Saidi is on record as having said the equity-based quota system is the best system for selecting students into public schools, as opposed to the merit system which CSOs want.