Female teachers shun rural areas in Chikwawa
There are reports that female teachers in Chikwawa District are shunning rural areas due to poor road networks as well as poor infrastructure thereby stifling education standards in the district.
Latest reports indicate that Therere Primary School under Senior Chief Ngabu has had no stable female teacher for over 10 years and that the school has only five teachers including the head teacher.
Chapananga Secondary School located about 50 kilometers from Chikwawa Boma has one female teacher while Mphande Primary School in Changoima area, Traditional Authority (T/A) Chapananga has three male teachers only.
National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) Trust interface meeting, Therere Primary School Head teacher, Patrick Mashonga said there was need for officials to do something about it to improve the situation.
“Five teachers can hardly deliver as expected and due to the pressure we have, there is poor performance especially from the pupils. We have had female teachers who came and moved out within a short period of time. They complained of poor road network and infrastructure,” said Mashonga
He added that lack of female teachers at the school has greatly affected performance of learners especially girls which he said for a period of 10 years has resulted to their poor performance in Standard 8 MANEB examinatons.
Commenting on the matter, Mercy Luka, Parents Teachers Association (PTA) Chairperson at the school, said girls’ education at the school has derailed as female learners do not have a role model close to them adding that shortage of school blocks and desks affects the learning environment among pupils.
“We have brought the challenges to the DEM’s office and they have assisted us with teachers only that they (teachers) left after a short while claiming that they are experiencing challenges with mobile networks as well as their access to markets,” she said.
According to the DEM’s Office, their ministry tries to boost the number of teachers annually but it is worrisome to note that most of them especially the female teachers do not stay for long in the remote areas where they are tasked to perform their duties.
SOME AREAS HAVE MORE CHALLENGING WEATHER Lower shire is too hot and it is more difficult for one from other areas to adapt the hot weather. It could have been good if the Ministry of Education decides now to start posting teachers who are from there since they are already used to hot weather. You mean lower shire is only producing male teachers and doesn’t have female teachers to be role models to young girls? To my surprise when it comes to politics you see female MPs coming from the very same area.Government and other NGOs should come up with… Read more »
Now now, where were these teachers when I was in primary school?
If the lady in the pic was my teacher, I would not absent myself a single day
Foolish comment by James Chacha whatever you call yourself among your fellow Lomwes, If this is the situation, what is your uncle APM doing to change the situation? Civil servant are not slaves. They deserve the best on the land. The president is elected to improve things and bring lives to the better. Iwe ndi ulomwe umwe omwewu really supporting even obvious mistakes and failure by your IBU?
Taonani kumbuyo kwa m’phunzitsi’yo……………………………… ndizokhazo ndaona before reading this article!
The problems Malawi is facing today started mostly in 1994. the problem we have is that there was no proper transition of power in 1994. after referendum, No national strategy to govern our country was made. it was all about democracy, all things happened so fast that we missed out real important issues, free education was a good initiative but its implementation was bad. you cannot just work up and decide that from today education is free, hospitals are free. such initiatives needs proper strategies, and takes time. in Malawi tilibe umwini wa zinthu that’s why everyone acts as he… Read more »
Sure its poor leadership.The president is always at home with his wife and boot licking entourage.He has never had time to visit these rural areas.Bakili used the helicopter to reach wherever he thought and had ramours of poor administration.Bingu too did this.The problem is the president is not fit,not qualified,not inteligent on his own.He bankrolled into politic through the influence of greedy people who had assessed him and concluded that they will get what they want because this imbecile president is sleepy. Look at the roads poorly constructed in his reign.He has never got time to visit the sites alone,but… Read more »
Should a teacher be wearing stilettos on the job? Seems kind of tiring….
kkkkkkkk ana angamve kuvala kwake kumeneku
eeeeeeee komaaaa
What would you do if it were you? No mobile phone network, no roads, no decent house? no educated husband around? No shops, no electricity, no piped water, no enough teachers to teach even your own children, nowhere to buy your daily needs, no internet access, no ground phones for that matter????? This is the evidence of challenges that teachers face but eventually it is our children who are suffering and largely, it is Malawi that will not develop. The question is, is this because of lack of money to improve the situation? The answer is NONONO But poor leadership.… Read more »
not only teachers…we are here working pa chipatalapa
You seem to be a little bit foolish! You also seem alien on earth especially in Malawi where i have met you, Ok i do not have the whole day here so let me just tell you this: good leadership might be one of the problems in Malawi BUT this does not mean the current leadership is the problem. This poor rural education teacher deficiency has been there before this regime. So please understand me when i say “BUT this does not mean the current leadership is the problem”. I wish you all the best in your continusl drunkard analysis… Read more »
But not during Kamuzu Banda.