Education ministry to renovate dilapidated 42 year old classroom block in Mzuzu rural

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology through the Mzimba North District Education Manager (DEM) has provided building materials valued at K2 million for the maintenance of a 42 year old classroom at Lusangazi Primary School on the outskirts of Mzuzu city.

The school’s head teacher, Precious Kaunda told Mana on Monday that the school wrote the DEM’s office seeking assistance for renovation of the school block which has been in a dilapidated state for years.

He  said in response the DEM sourced money and procured building materials to renovate the four roomed structure that was built by prisoners in 1975 and accommodates 250 pupils.  The school has three class room blocks with 511 learners, 14 teachers, five semi-permanent and one permanent teacher’s houses.

“So far the DEM’s office has only managed to give us construction materials worth K2 million which is about 70 percent of the entire project scheduled from April to October.

“We have since been advised to concentrate on the wall and the floor; the iron sheets will not be replaced due to insufficient funds but ministry will pay the contractor,’’ he said adding, that the community had already provided three kilns of burnt bricks and river sand for the project.

Kaunda said shortage of classrooms pushed the school’s administration to seek for funds to renovate the old building to help ease congestion.

“Currently, pupils are still using the block despite being in a sorry state with damaged floor, windows as well as big cracks on the walls that are posing a threat to the pupils.

“However, we ask for well-wishers to assist us in the remaining part of iron sheets even though we would have loved to renovate the entire building other than doing half of it as is the case now,” he said.

The District Education Manager was not readily available to comments as all attempts to talk to talk to him proved futile.

The district education office has provided 109 cement bags, six door frames, six  doors, 156 timbers of different sizes, eight bags of lime, six kg pouty, two steel window frames of nine  glasses each, 20 glasses, 20 kg roofing nails, 30 kg of nails in different sizes, 10 kg hooping wire and 15 litres of paint.

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