20 girls quit school annually in Usisya
Over 20 girls drop out of school at Usisya Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) in Nkhata Bay before sitting for their Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) examinations each year, authorities have confirmed.
Usisya CDSS Deputy Head teacher, Reuben Chimaliro, said in 2017 only, five girls sat for the examinations out of 25 that enrolled in Form One in 2013, a further drop from the 10 that had taken the same examinations in 2016.
Chimaliro said the major contributing factor to the high school dropout rate among girls is early marriages and long distances that the learners cover to and from school.
“These girls walk an average of eight kilometres daily to access secondary education. We can have a good number of girls when they start junior classes, as time goes by, they give up along the way and we have very few remaining in the senior classes.
“With the tough economic times being experienced in their homesteads some girls and parents think marriage is the only solace and solution to the life’s problems. It is worrisome and there is need for more interventions to improve the situation,” he said.
However, in an effort to promote quality education in rural areas, Multichoice Malawi in partnership with Mulika Scholarship Foundation on Friday launched digital learning equipment for Bunga, Usisya and Khondowe CDSSs.
Speaking during the launch of DStv educational channels at the three schools, Usisya Ward Councillor, Hency Chigowo, encouraged communities to take part in promoting education in the area.
MultiChoice Malawi Trainer, Noel Mwenifumbo, said students from the beneficiary schools will be able to learn through television in order to reduce the gap that exists between learners from rural areas and those in urban schools.
“As MultiChoice, we have always taken pride in recognising the importance of education in the country, hence the provision of these free educational channels to these schools,” Mwenifumbo said.
He said research has shown that the number of students who have excelled through television lessons has doubled from this region of Africa.
Mulika Scholarship Foundation Programme Coordinator, Godrick Mhone, encouraged the schools that have benefited from MultiChoice to utilise the resources in full to expand and improve the quality of learning in schools.
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