Parties education pledges: MCP to abolish CDSS, UDF to tackle teacher-pupil ratio
Malawi Congress Party (MCP) says it will abolish Community Day Secondary Schools (CDSS) and construct more modern secondary schools.
This was disclosed on Wednesday evening by MCP Shadow education minister Dr Elias Chakwera during a SDG Question Time debate at Kamuzu College of Nursing (KCN) in Lilongwe.
“Since 1994 Malawians have been cheated through CDSS schools. We have increased the number of students but worsened standards of education. MCP will abolish that,” said Chakwera during the debate which was live on Zodiak TV.
Chakwera accused the DPP-led government of failing to improve education standards.
“The only time our education systems have been vibrant is when MCP was in power. Education is not cheap. So we will make the right investment in education,” said Chakwera, who is also chairperson of the Education Committee in Parliament.
But Minister of Education Bright Msaka defended the DPP’s record on education, saying : “We are providing laboratories and libraries at every secondary school. We are providing boarding facility for every girl child in secondary school.”
In his contributions, United Democratic Front (UDF) Shadow Education Minister Clement Stambuli said the Atupele Muluzi led party will tackle the teacher-pupil ratio by employing more teachers when elected to govern.
Stambuli, a former minister, said UDF government which previously introduced free primary education will invest more in education.
In advancing UDF’s liberal policies, Stambuli said:”Education is a right and there is nothing that is impossible if we make the right priorities.”
But Msaka said DPP has employed 20000 teachers during its tenure and increased intake in teacher colleges.
Former ruling People’s Party (PP) panelist Lester Chikoya said the Joyce Banda administration will promote a pro-poor education policies.
“Under PP bursaries will not be politicised; bursaries will be provided to the needy not to people who already have enough,” Chikoya said.
UTM Party reprentative Jessie Kabwila said the education sector needed special attention.
She said UTM recognised that “there is a lot to be done to improve the quality of education.”
The debate was organised by Nation Publications Limited (NPL), Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) and United Nations Malawi focusing on education which featured all the major parties ahead of the May 21 elections.
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MCP is lying. Have they forgotten already that during MCP time, there was Malawi Correspondence Colleges (MCC). CDSS are much better than the MCP’s MCC.
Oh you are such brilliant man, but do you know that MCC was better much than Government Secondary School we have to day? Nonsense! It’s about the quality of Education not quality of blocks Demm!
Yes there was MCC but government was never selecting students to pursue their education at MCCs! Rather, those and or whoever went there did that on his/her own oblivion, and mostly they did it upon knowing that they couldn’t make it to either a day or national secondary school!
Nanga ndi izi zalelozi, mpakana kumapanga select students to community day secondary school, when you are aware there are no labolatories…………………………………… mxiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
UDF iripo? Kķkkkkkk. Chipani cha yero, chopanda manyazi. Chipani chodwaladwala ngati mbuye wawo, kkkkkkkkkk guys l like jokes, pepani. Chipani cha akumangwetuuu!!!!!
Malawi started from the time APM came into power, that is the year that Malawi became a republic. Malawi is a very new state and APM is the firt president who needs to sort out everything within 5 years, only if Malawi would have been founded more than 60 years ago things would have all been sorted out by now. Every single problem started by APM, so any effort he is doing wont be much as we all see it in that myopic way
It’s pathetic that people discussing this noble issue do not understand the real education problem in Malawi. Let’s not politicize education. Some were lying without shame and others were just trying to say something. The system is rotten from the head to the foot. It is sick both macro and micro..
Nsaka be serious please. which boarding schools are you providing . many students come from there homes to school
That is why he was boooooooed
We are good at crafting policies but implementation is always a problem. The CDSS function couold have been upgraded by now , the initiative wasnt bad
How silly is that? What are they going to have instead? Re-name them to something else?
If anything education standards sloped during UDF regime. They introduced free primary education without training teachers first. The unbalance between teachers and pupils was created by UDF and what is Stambuli insinuating when he says UDF will tackle teacher- pupil ratio? I don’t support MCP, but during Kamuzu Banda’s era private schools were nowhere near public schools and whoever went to private school was considered dull, but the scenario changed when UDF came into power.