Maranatha Academy director spends night in police cell

Managing director of Blantyre-based Maranatha International Academy, Ernest Kaonga, spent Wednesday night in police custody following his wrongful arrests by  Police in Zomba on suspicion that he wanted to disturb the release of Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) examinations results.

He has been freed without charge.

Kaonga confirmed that he spent the night in the cooler in Zomba, saying police thought he wanted to disturb the process of releasing the MSCE results.

“I went to Maneb (Malawi National Examinations Board) to obtain results for Maranatha International Academy and we do this yearly. I was told they have changed the system of releasing the results and police ended up detaining me,” he said.

“So I spent a night at police cell.”

Police officers in Zomba said the matter has been settled amicably and that Kaonga has no case or offence to answer.

The MSCE examinations results show a 63.23 percent pass rate.

Maneb executive director Gerald Chiunda said although the pass rate has increased by two percent compared to last year, the quality of grades has gone down.

This year, no candidate has scored the highest aggregate of six points in the best six subjects while only one has scored seven points. Out of 197 287 candidates who sat the examinations, 124 745 have passed, representing 63.23 percent pass rate.

Meanwhile,  Kaonga said their focus for Maranatha is to produce the best results at secondary school level every year.

He stressed that the school will continue to aim at increasing the good results through management of quality assurance drills which will continuously ensure that education delivery services at the institution are not compromised.

The academy enrols both boys and girls and it offers MSCE as well as the Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) classes for both Ordinary and Advanced levels, including computer lessons.

The academy’s boss tressed that the school will continue to aim at increasing the good results through management of quality assurance drills which will continuously ensure that education delivery services at the institution are not compromised.

The academy enrols both boys and girls and it offers MSCE as well as the Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) classes for both Ordinary and Advanced levels, including computer lessons.