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Educationist Worried with Division Among Education Bodies

Moloko Moloko - pic by Christopher Sande

A Prominent Education activist has cautioned that the division that has rocked the public and private related education organizations has the potential for political elites to manipulate and weaken their operations in the country.

Mr Benedicto Kondowe told Zodiak on Friday that the groups which include to Teachers Union of Malawi, Secondary School Teachers Association, Independent Schools Association of Malawi and Private Schools Association of Malawi need to be organized to work in the best interest of promoting quality education in the country.

“It is worrying that the fragmentation that has rocked both the public and private education organizations can retard education in the country,” said Kondowe.

He thinks the availability of many of such bodies is confusing, which he says can create loopholes for manipulation by government.

“I think disagreements among these groups come due to leadership wrangles. But I think time is now for these bodies to have one voice, for as it is, they can easily be weakened by political elites,” explained he.

The sentiments come when some private school owners have revamped the Private Schools Association of Malawi, PRISAM, with a vision to transform and make sure that all private schools are accredited with government.

PRISAM Trustee, Dr Hastings Moloko, has since asked government to extend the examination fee registration by one week to accommodate learners that were left out.

“You are aware that the exercise was closed on 16 April, 2021. Many parents did not have money to pay being mid-month. I ask authorities to consider the extension to assist learners, especially girls, who cannot wait until next year to sit for examinations,” said Dr Moloko.

He added that the new PRISAM's vision is to ensure that private schools have decent buildings, registration and accreditation of schools, offer incentives to teachers and increase inspection on schools’ performance.

This means the country has two private school associations, PRISAM and Independent Schools Association of Malawi.

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