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.
Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :
It is not the first time that the Tumbukas are doing very well in schools.During the colonial era,theTumbukas were leading in schools to the fact that,white collar jobs were taken by the Tumbukas while people from the Central and Southern made their trips to Zambia (Northern Rhodesia) to work under ground,some went to Southern Rhodesia(Zimbabwe) some few Northerners went there too but,in small numbers.It is unbelievable for the Malawian government to isolate some people because of talents in colleges and schools.It is only GOD THE ALMIGHTY could stop the Northerners for their intellectual capacity.Back in the South and Central Malawi,especially… Read more »
Praise the Lord that am seeing this while am still alive, in 1990 and 2000s we have been discriminated against ku nkhani ya education and employment by northerners. Just look at admin of Mzuzu university and alumni of the university from 2003 to 2010 pure discrimination against central and southern regions, u guys u should have taste of your own medicine. i am a chewa by tribe and because of that i was told in the face that i couldnt occupy a certain off campus house in Luwinga when I was selected to study at Mzuni because ndine mchewa in… Read more »
Malawians we are creating a very bad Precedent or we have already created it, We have instilled in our Children that to pass an exam or to do well you must be born in a certain Region. This is not true, it will take time for certain groups of people to come to terms that intelligence comes from hardwork and from GOD and because of that we are using Politicians to Manipulate us into hating one another. I will not and will never support the quarter system and when it is Politicised then we are creating a hatred that at… Read more »
Abwana ndiwe mbuzi tonde
Chopanda nzeru
CRY MY BELOVED COUNTRY WE HAVE PRINCIPLE SECRETARIES WHO THINK LIKE NURSERY SCHOOL TODDLERS !!
I do not support bias and quota syatem. But this year, Northerners did not perform well. The best way is to work hard and not to go to the streets. Loyala Secondary School in Kasungu has performed well. This school is not in the north or in the south. Thumbs up to central region for the best school and the south for producing the best student. As for northerners, please work hard next year.
National CEO, do you know that we were told just to mark the exams and not indicate the marks? Find out from the teachers who mark the exams. Do the research then argue later.
I think he crazy ps ,who cant be trusted with respobility.he answer like crech child.
KODI ATUMBUKA SIMUKUDZIWA KUTI QUOTA ADABWERETSA NDI KAMUZU? bY THE WAY, YOU WANT EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AND OTHER AMMENITIES BUT NOT EDUCATION?
THATS WHY JON TEMBO ADANGOKUTIBULANI NDI KWANUMKWANU 1989. MWAIWALA?
Ta
APA ndakumbuka nthawi IJA wakumpoto ndi wakumwera nthawi yoipa ngati ya chipani chimodzi cha MCP yafikanso muulamulilo wa DPP
We need merit selection of students to public schools and not this hypocrisy of Llomwelization of education system . I support the Northerners for staging this Demo against Quota system. Why sending Llomwes to Northern Region and not Tumbukas to Southern Region??? Sankhu mwayamba nokha a Llomwes so the way I know the Tumbukadzi will indeed chase all the students from Southern region in retaliation for this evil quota system and this will be the beginning of the breakaway northern region from Malawi. Don’t underrate this threat of Dan Msowoya and Kajoloweka is with the blessing of people from the… Read more »