Mulanje Secondary School conquers Atem Shed finals
Mulanje Secondary School on Sunday came top in the two-day Association of the Teaching of English in Malawi (Atem) Shire Highlands Education Division (Shed) finals held at Luchenza Secondary School in Thyolo District.
The school, with their play titled Tears of Mpola, won the hearts of the judges and outclassed 19 other schools to claim the top position and earn a spot in the national final to take place in Lilongwe next term alongside St Patricks and Matapwa which came second and third with their plays The Charmed Necklace and The Trial, respectively.
The 20 schools that participated were from the four districts of Phalombe, Mulanje, Thyolo and Chiradzulu.
In individual awards, Chifundo Gapala from St Patricks was voted best actor, with Stella Kathumbo from Mulanje Secondary School claiming the best actress accolade.
The others were Cassam Grecius—(best English speaker (male) and Ireen Juma best English speaker (female).
Chairperson for Atem Shed, Charles Kamanga, described the regional finals, which were attended by players from the education sector and Anti-Corruption Bureau, as a success.
“What a battle it was and we are now looking forward to the national final,” Kamanga said.
Atem President Dave Mpaso said the good side of the event was that there was an improvement in terms of quantity as regards the number of participating schools.
“And this, I have to say, is something to smile about. But then the quality of plays needs to improve. Of course, some plays were good; very good, in fact. But a good number of them were not that good. So, it was an issue of quantity and not quality,” Mpaso said.
In the Central West Education Division contest held at Mlodza Secondary School in Lilongwe on Saturday, Kamuzu Barracks beat 12 other secondary schools.
For coming out top, Kamuzu Barracks is through to the Atem national final alongside Mlodza and Chipasula, which came out second and third, respectively.
The Northern and Central regions have concluded their divisional finals, with the Southern Region remaining.
Eighteen schools are expected to battle it out in the national final.
Atem is running its contest under the themes ‘Evils of Corruption’ and ‘The Role of Youth in Combating Gender-based violence’.
