Dedza, June 24, 2015: Mua School for the deaf risks an abrupt closure due to shortage of food stocks, Malawi News Agency (Mana) has established.
Mua is the only institution in the central region that accommodates students with hearing and speaking impairments from a total of 12 districts, nine at the centre and three in the southern region thus Machinga, Balaka and Mangochi.
The school’s head teacher George Nanthiko who said, “there is immediate need for food assistance like maize, otherwise this term’s school calendar would run staggeringly.”
Nanthiko added, “for a single school calendar to complete requires maize grain stocks of not less than 400 bags, but there is no hope of getting maize anywhere else which risks closing the school just this term, until we will have secured some for the next two terms.”
The Head said there were other difficulties the school was facing besides food shortage like insufficiency of learning and teaching materials which makes it hard to meet principle ways of service delivery by teaching staff.
“It’s very disheartening, I can tell that presently we don’t have a single teachers guide for standard seven; with very few text books in standards five and six respectively” he added wondering how students can perform well.
He continued that the school gets government funding perked at Four hundred thousand kwacha only (K400, 000) per month which caters footing water and electricity bills, stationery, vehicle maintenances and paying supporting staff among others.
In an exclusive interview with the school’s two deputy head teachers, Happy Choka and Innocent Chakhwatha echoed this condition had occurred following the rising up of enrollments.
“We have class rooms and per as design each class was meant for 10 students. However the rising numbers of deaf children in the 12 districts is making the administration enroll at least 16 to 17 per class,” they chorused.
However the head teacher appealed to government to erect more other schools for students with special needs in the country.
“We only get 15 students per every June, let me ask government to consider providing another school somewhere because many students are left unassisted out there.
“And again there is great requirement for constructing secondary schools, colleges so that these students proceed with school after completing their standard 8 here. Most of them have nothing to do after this school,” he said.
Dedza District Education Manager, Billy Banda concurred with the head teacher’s woes as realistic but attributed it to untimely and meager funding the school receives.
“Indeed it is true; we have a query from the school dated June 4, 2015 asking us for help. But all this is due to funding hitches that are always there. I wish the problem was sorted out soon so that classes progressed,” said Banda.
Responding on the insufficiency of teachers at the school, Banda said it had become a common problem in many schools in the district.
Children with disabilities have the right to education for them to be responsible citizens in the future.
