BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-The Civil Society Education Coalition (CSEC) has raised awareness in the districts of Mzuzu, Mzimba, Dowa, Mangochi and Blantyre on the role of parents to keep learners motivated while at home.
This is a response to some of the concerns raised by parents on the need for Government to put in place strategies that will help learners to remain motivated during the coronavirus pandemic that has forced them to stay away from school.
On March 20, 2020, President Peter Mutharika announced the closure of all public and private schools, colleges ‘including technical colleges’, and universities by 23rd March, 2020 as a measure against the possible arrival of the coronavirus in Malawi. This resulted in most learners more especially those in rural areas to lose interest in education.
With the funding from their various stakeholders, CSEC has managed to raise awareness on the need for parents to take the leading role in encouraging their children to focus on their studies while home despite the closure of the schools especially those in standard 8 and Form 4.
In an interview with the Programs Manager for CSEC, Kisa Kumwenda, revealed that the program will be rolled out in phases but it has started in these five districts as they have registered high drop out rates in the recent years.
“We thought it wise to raise this campaign in these five districts as they have registered high drop out rates in the last few years more especially the girl child and learners with disabilities.
“We have noted that most parents are unable to teach their children but we believe they can still play a role by encouraging their children to revise what they learnt when they were in school,” said Kumwenda.
At least 177 countries have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic with 1,682,533 recorded cases and 101,983 reported deaths due to the pandemic.
Most countries including Malawi have closed schools as one of the precaution measures to avoid the spread of the novel coronavirus.
As of April 10, 2020 Malawi had nine COVID-19 cases with one death.