Malawi reopening of schools with K5bn boost to ministry of education for sustainable safe environment
Schools in Malawi will reopen on Monday with government injecting K5 billion from the K17 billion Covid-17 response funds to the ministry of education to ensure sustainable safe environment for both learners and teachers.
Schools were expected to reopen on February 8, after President Lazarus Chakwera ordered that all schools should be closed for three weeks on January 17, but his government’s Covid-19 taskforce extended the closure for another two weeks.
The opening of schools comes after Independent Schools Association of Malawi (Isama) wrote the Ministry of Health that the number of Covid-19 cases were on the decline.
“The more we keep learners at home, the more they are disadvantaged as some will end up going into early marriages and some getting unwanted pregnancies. We might end up building a cohort of people who would never love education,” said Isama president Joseph Patel.
Co-chairperson of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19, Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda, who is also Minister of Health announced on Wednesday that all schools will reopen on Monday February 22 2021 with K5 billion provided to Ministry of Education to ensure safe environment for both learners and teachers.
Minister of Education Agness Nyalonje said her ministry has provided schools with face masks, soap and other items to prevent the spread of the virus.
On the K5 billion allocation, Nyalonje said the ministry plans to use some of the funds to drill boreholes in 650 primary and secondary schools to ensure the educational facilities have potable water for sanitation.
“Of the 650 boreholes, 400 will be drilled in primary schools while 240 will be in secondary schools,” said Nyalonje.
She also said Ministry of Education plans to “procure tens to decongest classes. About K384.6 million will go towards that.”
Nyalonje said to ease pressure on teachers, government has also recruited 2 275 auxiliary teachers.
Better the money go into the project rather than into the pocket of dears that love their berry full without regarding the life of poor malawian child who can’t afford quality education
The government of Malawi ought to consider an average Malawian who is a salary/wage earner who gets paid a peanut salary/wage by month end. How would such poor and vulnerable parents and guardians going to afford paying for transport, supplies/groceries and pocket money when schools are reopening on 22 February? Tonse Alliance government, please be decisive and consider the ultra poor and vulnerable Malawians who would want their wards to get a better education at the expense of their suffering
Great move government! Life must continue though there is Covid 19. Pamenepo mwayamba kuganiza bho inu azathu a ku boma.
5 billion Kwacha is just a peanut if we are to safely open schools. According to statistics of 2017, Malawi had a total of 6,065 primary xuls and 1411 secondary xuls. The total number of pupils in PS was 5,073,721 and for SS was 372,886. If we are to safely guard our children against this deadly virus, we need to look beyond the opening day and put our focus on the entire term. The minister says the money to be used in drilling boreholes and buying tents for extra teaching space. How about soap, basins and sanitizer for these children? If these children are to patronize hand washing at one borehole, will they not infect one another? In my observation the govt is not serious about the health of our children. The govt has not learnt any lesson when 50% of our children in done schools were infected and passed on the infection to their parents the last time schools were open. It is the parents who had suffered and some of them died because of shallow minded policy makers. What we need is not only boreholes on the opening day, we need sustainable availability of soaps, water, washing basins and hand sanitizers for each and every classroom in all the schools in Malawi. We need not just a handful classroom tents in few town schools but in each and every school if we are serious with this pandemic. Most importantly, we need regular testing of these children. The last time we opened schools, media houses were sugar coating in reporting cases in Schools. Media houses were telling lies about this pandemic. This was very unfortunate.What the govt did in January was unfortunate and un forgivable. Many of our children were infected and quarantined. Their parents infected and suffered. While the authorities were sleeping and expected miracles in managing the pandemic, we found ourselves in a very big mess.
Malawians, let’s rise up. These politicians will not help us with anything. It is our children suffering in schools and not these useless policy makers. We have a very big task in ensuring that our children are safe. Let’s demand total hygiene in the schools of our children both govt and private. Should we sleep like others are doing, we shall suffer the third wave of this pandemic. Ndiime kaye pamenepa.
Please do a proper risk assessment otherwise mukutizunzira ana kwambiri. We all know the age group mostly affected by the virus. It is mostly the old and those with underlying conditions. Bweretsani katemera tithane nazo izi zomayenda ngati tili ku dambwe.
that’s the way to go!
The president has be,en saying he Covid control measures will be reviewed when the transmission rate reaches 5% and below. Schools, which holds alot of people at once and daily and for long hours, are opening. Markets which holds numerous numbers of people were ‘not closed’, Bars, churches which hold very few people at once and for very few hours are still closed. Is the Govt not compromised in the way it is doing things. Are we not going to see a resurgence soon as I believe the current daily infection rate is still high
As long as that 5 billion reaches to the remotest of the remotest schools in Malawi. Fair & equal distribution of those funds will be helpful.
Chonde work as a government osangodzuka basi mkumati school itsekulidwa Monday. You need to inform us well in advance and consider nso kuti we were left in darkness as when kids will go back to school therefore we need to prepare financially. Kindly consider to create levels of severity where by decisions are guided by data on the ground instead of personal emotions. Amzathu ali ndi level 5-1 and they know what triggers wat.
Ndiye mukuti DODMA ntchito yawo ndi chiani? They are supposed to have been coordinating the Covid Response Action Plan as a Disaster Management Unit/Command Centre. Koma alas!!! Kumangonyambita ma allowance. The way things have been going it seems the Presidential Taskforce was the one coordinating which is wrong. The taskforce was supposed to be the decision making committee chaired by the President himself. Anyway sometimes you wonder the governance structure????
Chonde masukulu mukutsakula tisaonense ana akubwerera paja school fees munatafuna kale.Ndiponso muonjezere masiku amene akhala ali panyumba mpaka term idzagwirizane ndi fees.Apo bii chilungamo palibe chifukwa aziphunzitsi anali kale pa holiday.
Its not only girls affected even the boys are victims