BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-Ministry of Education has extended primary and secondary schools classes closure till March 31, 2023 over impact of Cyclone Freddy in the southern region’s districts.
In a press statement issued on Saturday, March 18, signed by Education Ministry’s Principal Secretary Chikondano Mussa disclosed that the closure is till end of term two.
Reads the statement; “Following consultations with all District and Education Division Managers, the Ministry of Education wishes to inform the general public that it is further extending the temporary suspension of primary and secondary school classes up to 31st March 2023 when Term 2 ends, in the Cyclone Freddy most affected education districts of Nsanje,Chikwawa, Mulanje, Phalombe, Blantyre Rural, Blantyre Urban, Thyolo, Chiradzulu, Mwanza, Neno, Zomba Rural and Zomba Urban. Classes will resume on 17th April 2023, when Term 3 commences.
“The rapid assessment of schools that the Ministry of Education has conducted in the affected districts shows that most structures such as classrooms and toilets are unsafe and hence, need certification before children can be brought to school; while other infrastructure such as, roads, bridges, and support services need maintenance or restoration for learners to safely access schools”.
“Furthermore, as of Friday, 17thMarch 2023, about 230 schools were being used as holding camps forinternally displaced communities.
“All learners sitting for national and international examinations will returnto school on 27th March 2023, to start preparing for examinations”
Adds the statement, “The rest of the classes in primary and secondary school will write their end of Term 2 examinations in the first week of Term 3.
“In this period, the Ministry will continue to work with District Councils, Development Partners and other stakeholders to mobilize support to meet the immediate minimum needs of the schools for safe reopening”.
Meanwhile, to ensure continuation of learning, the Ministry has put in place the following: a. Learner targeted radio lessons to resume on air from Monday 20thMarch 2023, from 08:00hrs to 16:30hrs, for both primary and Secondary school throughout the period including during the Easter holiday.
The radio lesson broadcast schedule for Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) Radio 1 & 2 is attached andcan also be downloaded from the Ministry’s website:https://www.education.gov.mw/.b. Online lessons available on the following links:https://c14.radioboss.fm/u/285 (both primary and secondary)and https://shakaina.radioca.st/stream (secondary).c. Carefully designed learner-centred secondary school learning materials can be accessed online on the Ministry of Education website above. Immediate requirements for resumption of classes include, temporary classrooms, toilets, textbooks and scholastic materials such as movable chalkboards, chalk, dusters, notebooks, gadgets to support digital learning, e.g., radios and tablets.
The Ministry is calling upon development partners, community leaders, parents, guardians and all stakeholders to support the recovery process of learners to access the radio lessons and the digital learning materials available.
