BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-Fed Steel Engineering has donated MK15 million worth of school desks to Milonga Community Day Secondary School in Mulanje to support education sector.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, Managing Director Fedson Selwin, a former student of the school, shared his experiences of studying without proper furniture and expressed his commitment to improving educational conditions.
Selwin highlighted the need for collaboration between the government, alumni, and local businesses to enhance learning environments.
He encouraged students to explore vocational skills and hands-on training as valuable career pathways.
Thandizo Tomato, a Form 4 student, stressed the importance of caring for the donated desks, noting that students have long missed the comfort of proper seating.
“We used to sit on the floor and now we have received this, we are grateful and we will make sure that we are taking proper care of it,” He said
Headteacher Janet Hanjahanja thanked Fed Steel Engineering for their support, emphasizing that the new desks will greatly improve learning conditions.
Fed Steel Engineering, based in Lilongwe, specializes in high-quality furniture and customized steel products for residential and commercial needs.
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LILONGWE(MaraviPost)-The leadership of Lilongwe Private School continues to face renewed scrutiny following an interface meeting held on 11th November 2025 between the Board of Trustees and representatives of the Concerned Citizens of Malawi.
The meeting, which took place in Lilongwe, brought together Board Chairperson Mr Bheda, trustees Mr Kalaria and Mr Tikambe, alongside Comrade Edward Kambanje and Pastor Victor Nyanyaliwa, who attended on behalf of the concerned citizens.
The primary aim of the engagement was to address a series of grievances raised by members of staff from Lilongwe Private Schools, many of whom allege persistent problems in leadership, management, and staff welfare at the institution.
Among the issues presented were concerns regarding the professional conduct of the primary school head, questions surrounding salary increments, claims of discrimination, disciplinary inconsistencies, and immigration matters relating to the head of the primary section.
The Board responded to these matters by first defending the professional credentials of the primary school head, stating that she is well qualified, experienced in teacher management, and generally maintains a positive working relationship with her staff.
It was further emphasised that although the majority of teachers appreciate her leadership, some may naturally express dissatisfaction with certain management decisions.
The Board also highlighted that under her stewardship, the primary section has registered a 95 per cent improvement in both discipline and academic performance, though they acknowledged that communication challenges related to her accent have caused difficulty for some.
On remuneration matters, the Board clarified that the school operates under established conditions of service where staff are employed strictly on merit, including management positions.
It was explained that the school conducts annual staff appraisals, with salary increments ranging between 10 and 20 per cent, depending on performance.
The Board also stated that all members of staff—regardless of religion or nationality—receive uniform benefits and incentives as part of the institution’s motivation framework.
They added that only two teachers were excluded from this year’s increment because their contracts expire in December, prompting management to withhold salary adjustments.
In addressing claims of discrimination, the Board insisted that the school maintains a 50:50 enrolment policy between Malawian learners and those of other nationalities each academic year.
They further maintained that class allocation and seating arrangements are determined solely by performance and managed exclusively by class teachers without administrative interference.
It was also stated that classrooms accommodate between 25 and 30 pupils irrespective of racial or national background.
On disciplinary procedures, the Board affirmed that the school follows a structured student policy whereby minor issues are handled at class level, while serious matters escalate to the disciplinary committee involving both teachers and parents.
The Board denied any form of bias in the handling of unruly or underperforming learners and cited a recent incident in which a student was expelled after parents refused to cooperate with disciplinary processes.
On the immigration status of the primary section head, the Board clarified that she legally entered Malawi to join her husband and later applied for her role based on qualifications and experience, and now holds a valid work permit.
Attention then shifted to broader concerns relating to leadership practices, staff morale, and professional equity among teachers, where the Board acknowledged several internal challenges.
These include allegations of some members of staff offering private tutoring in breach of school policy, and reports of teachers openly challenging management decisions.
There were further claims of certain teachers selling textbooks and one teacher accused of sowing confusion, bullying pupils, and repeatedly attracting complaints from parents, learners, and fellow staff.
Management confirmed that disciplinary measures have been taken, including the withholding of salary increments for those found to be promoting misconduct.
At the conclusion of the meeting, both parties agreed on the need to work collaboratively for the benefit of the school, with an expectation that management would enforce disciplinary procedures fairly and appropriately.
However, concerns have resurfaced barely days after the interface meeting, with reports that newly recruited teachers have been informed that they will not receive salaries during the holiday period.
This development has been condemned by concerned stakeholders, who argue that Lilongwe Private School has always paid both permanent and probationary teachers during holidays.
The decision has therefore been described as an act of exploitation, raising fears that management may be reneging on assurances made during the meeting.
Comrade Edward Kambanje and Pastor Victor have warned that if the promised reforms are not implemented with urgency, further action will be taken in defence of teachers’ rights and the welfare of learners at Lilongwe Private School.
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BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has opened the call for entries for the 2026 SADC Tertiary Institution Essay Competition.
The competition aims to foster greater awareness and participation of young people in advancing the region’s goals of cooperation, integration, and socio-economic development.
The topic for the competition is: “Compare and contrast the challenges faced by the SADC founders in the 20th century against the current challenges. Which lesson(s) from the SADC Founders would you advise or adapt to address today’s regional dilemma(s)?”
Open to all tertiary-level students across SADC Member States, the competition offers attractive prizes for the top three regional winners:
First Prize: US$2,000
Second Prize: US$1,500
Third Prize: US$1,000 and Certificates
The deadline for submission of entries to Ministries of Education in respective SADC Member States is January 31, 2026, while the deadline for submission to the SADC Secretariat is February 28, 2026.
SADC encourages all tertiary students, educators, parents, and academic institutions to support and participate in this initiative, empowering youth as key contributors to the region’s sustainable development and unity.
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BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-National Bank of Malawi (NBM) plc has donated 84 desks worth MK15 million to Namitambo Primary School in Chiradzulu to improve learning conditions for pupils.
The desks will cater for the pupils who previously sat on the floor due to a shortage of furniture.
Speaking during the handover ceremony in Chiradzulu on Thursday, NBM plc Head of Corporate Banking Division, William Chatsala, said the donation was part of the Bank’s efforts to support education through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
“This donation is about restoring the dignity of learners. One of the teachers told me that it is difficult for girls to stand and answer questions because most of them sit on the floor. With these desks, they can now learn comfortably and dream of a better life,” said Chatsala.
Chiradzulu District Commissioner, Francis Matewele, commended NBM plc for what he described as a timely and impactful gesture that will help improve the quality of education in the district.
“I would like to thank National Bank, ‘The bank of the nation’, for this donation of 84 desks for our learners in the junior classes. Most learners were sitting on the floor, but the bank has stepped in with K15 million to purchase these desks,” he said.
Matewele further appealed for a mindset change among parents and guardians, urging them to send their children to school.
Namitambo Primary School Head Teacher, Charles Majawa, expressed gratitude, saying the desks will ease seating challenges during examinations.
“Namitambo Zone is the biggest centre in Chiradzulu, and during examinations, learners faced problems because they had no desks. This support has come at the right time,” said Majawa.
The school has an enrolment of 1,221 learners.
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Having taught Physics for over 30 years to young girls, when experts called for transforming teachers and teaching for young people’s health, well-being and gender equality, it resonated strongly with me.
Before world’s largest gathering on sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice (International Conference on Family Planning or ICFP 2025) opens next week in Colombia, several experts are underpinning the importance of transforming teachers and teaching for adolescent health, well-being, gender equality and human right to health.
“Every child, adolescent, and young person, regardless of who they are and where they live, deserves an opportunity to learn and develop skills that will enable them to make safe and confident choices about their lives – and comprehensive sexuality education is one such life skill,” said Sai Jyothirmai Racherla, Deputy Executive Director, The Asian-Pacific Resource & Research Centre for Women (ARROW).
Provide CSE within the education ecosystem
“Though comprehensive sexuality education is such a taboo, it is an important aspect of children, adolescents, and young people’s well-being. However, we have so many barriers in advancing comprehensive sexuality education. As SRHRJ (sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice) advocates, one of our key agenda has been to ensure that we provide access to comprehensive sexuality education within the education ecosystem,” added ARROW leader Sai.
ARROW with partners had organised an important Asia Pacific regional multistakeholder technical meeting which had put teachers and teaching centre-stage while deliberating upon comprehensive sexuality education and broader SRHRJ.
Teachers can be good enablers to provide CSE
“We see teachers as one crucial stakeholder group and this multistakeholder technical meeting had pinned down on the teachers and how teachers can be good enablers to provide comprehensive sexuality education. Global research also says that teachers are most important school-related factors affecting students’ learning. Evidence also shows that addressing learners’ health, well-being and education, improves school education, school attendance, retention and learning quality,” said Sai.
Just providing comprehensive sexuality education not only improves the life skills but also it improves the learning capabilities across other learning arenas.
Teachers and teaching and young people remained central to SRHRJ agenda of this meet organised by ARROW, UNESCO South-East Asia, UNESCO South Asia, UNICEF East Asia Pacific, UNICEF South Asia, UNFPA Asia-Pacific and Education International Asia-Pacific in collaboration with SDG for Youth Student Network and Y-PEER Asia-Pacific Centre.
Over 160 people took part including civil society, youth, academic institutions, but most important stakeholder group were government officials from the Ministry of Education of 20 countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia regions. So many ministries of education officials coming together to advance adolescent health and well-being – and comprehensive sexuality education was one crucial pivot – was in itself a big milestone, said Sai.
Gender transformative education
“This meeting also furthered the agenda of gender transformative education,” said Sai Jyothirmai Racherla of ARROW. “Whole school and gender transformative approaches should connect curricula, learning environment and well-being. A whole school approach and a gender transformative approach must be included in teachers’ training too.”
“Grassroots voices and lived experiences of teachers were highlighted from the perspective of teachers. We need to better understand what is required for teachers to provide quality comprehensive sexuality education.”
Invest in teacher training on CSE
“One of the recommendations from this meet called on investing in high quality and inclusive pre- and in-service teacher training for comprehensive sexuality education. This is very important. We are not only talking about students’ curricula, which is also very important, and that is the agenda that we are all pushing forward, but in addition to students’ curricula we are also talking about teachers’ pre- and in-service teacher training curricula which should mandatorily include comprehensive sexuality education,” said Sai.
“We also advocated for stronger education system policies and investments in teacher training so that they can promote adolescent health and well-being. We also talked about the meaningful inclusion of youth, adolescents, and teachers themselves in the development of pre-service and in-service training curricula. When the training curricula of the teachers is being developed, there needs to be consultations of the teachers themselves and there also needs to be the consultation of youth and adolescents into such curricula,” said Sai.
Teacher class action research
“One of the other recommendations that came out of this process was teacher action research. So, within the classroom practices we need to enable teacher class action research so that classroom practices and the pedagogy can be improved and it can be more resilient to meet the needs of students seeking such education,” shared Sai Jyothirmai Racherla, who would also be speaking at the upcoming ICFP 2025 next week in Bogota, Colombia.
“There was also focus on how we measured teaching and learning of comprehensive sexuality education within education systems and the data that needs to be collected at scale across the systems,” added Sai.
Are we taking care of the teachers’ well-being and health?
“Another important discussion at this technical convening was around if we are taking care of teachers’ psychosocial health and well-being because teachers’ health and well-being also impact students’ health and well-being. So, we cannot just look at a very extractive way of ‘how we need to provide comprehensive sexuality education to students’ irrespective of what is the state of the teachers. Are the teachers having the right resources? Are the teachers having the right education materials? Are the teachers in the first place having proper facilities for them to be in a well-being status for them to provide comprehensive sexuality education?” rightly said Sai.
Youth voices echo in unison for CSE
“Beijing+30 are not only reflections and past commitments, but it is a call to action for the future. From the Asia Pacific regional multistakeholder dialogue on comprehensive sexuality education, youth voice echoed clearly that we need comprehensive sexuality education that is inclusive, right spaced and adaptable to our diverse realities,” said Zuzan, Y-PEER Laos and Y-PEER Asia Pacific Centre.
“Even today, many young people still face stigma, lack of access and misinformation when it comes to sexual and reproductive health. So, without addressing these barriers, SDG-3 and SDG-5, will remain out of reach,” added Zuzan. “Teachers are not just knowledge providers but role models who can inspire values of equality, respect and empathy in the next generation. Equipping teacher with the right training mean equipping adults with a skill to think critically, to make informed choices and to treat other with respect and dignity.”
“Youth participation should go beyond consultation. Young people must be a part of designing, implementing and monitoring programmes of comprehensive sexuality education. This means establishing mechanisms for youth-led accountability such as youth advisory roles, comprehensive sexuality education monitoring committees and intergenerational dialogues that allow feedback to reach policy making. Because accountability is not only about tracking progress, but also about sharing power and trust with young people,” said Zuzan.
“Looking ahead, accountability must mean more than just tracking promises – it must mean resourcing and implementing them. That means investing in youth leaderships not only through words but through real funding and capacity building, integrating comprehensive sexuality education into national policies and curricula, ensuring no young person is left behind, especially those from marginalised communities, building stronger partnership across sectors to break silos and accelerate progress on SDG-3 and SDG-5 and creating mechanisms for youth-led accountability so that young people have a real seat at the table monitoring and evaluating progress on Beijing+30 commitments,” concluded Zuzan.
Zuzan and Sai Jyothirmai Racherla were keynote speakers at SHE & Rights (Sexual Health with Equity & Rights) session held ahead of International Conference on Family Planning or ICFP 2025 which will open next week in Bogota, Colombia. SHE & Rights session was on the theme: “It is time for accountability and action after UNGA High Level Meeting around Beijing+30.”
This SHE & Rights session was together hosted by Global Center for Health Diplomacy and Inclusion (CeHDI), International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) 2025, Y-PEER Asia Pacific, Y-PEER Laos, Family Planning News Network (FPNN), International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW), Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR), Asia Pacific Media Alliance for Health and Development (APCAT Media) and CNS.
Shobha Shukla – CNS (Citizen News Service)
(Shobha Shukla is a feminist, health and development justice advocate, and an award-winning founding Managing Editor and Executive Director of CNS (Citizen News Service). She was also the Lead Discussant for SDG-3 at United Nations inter-governmental High Level Political Forum (HLPF 2025). She is a former senior Physics faculty of prestigious Loreto Convent College; current President of Asia Pacific Regional Media Alliance for Health, Gender and Development Justice (APCAT Media); Chairperson of Global AMR Media Alliance (GAMA received AMR One Health Emerging Leaders and Outstanding Talents Award 2024); and Host of SHE & Rights (Sexual Health with Equity & Rights). Follow her on Twitter/X @shobha1shukla or read her writings here www.bit.ly/ShobhaShukla)
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BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-The country’s renowned artist MC Chris Loka is calling on well-wishers to support his initiative aimed at renovating the classroom blocks at Chilaweni Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) in Blantyre.
Through his registered organization, Mupacho Initiative, Loka aims to mobilize resources to address the urgent need for improvements at his childhood school.
Reflecting on his time at Chilaweni CDSS from 2004 to 2007, Loka credits the dedicated teachers for nurturing his aspirations to become a journalist.
However, during a recent visit, he was disheartened to find the school in a state of disrepair, with broken windows and damaged floors creating an unsafe learning environment.
“The significant changes I observed over the years were alarming.
“The classroom conditions are unacceptable, and I feel compelled to take action,” says Loka.
He estimates that the cost to renovate the classroom floors and repair the windows will be approximately MK5.5 million.
Head Teacher Ivy Mafunga-Genda noted that Chilaweni CDSS, established in 1994, has experienced growth in enrollment and staffing, currently employing 17 qualified teachers.
However, enrollment has declined to just 125 students, largely due to the lack of adequate facilities.
“Students today prefer learning environments with proper classrooms, libraries, and laboratories.
“Unfortunately, Chilaweni lacks these essential resources and has no piped water or electricity in the classrooms,” Genda said.
The school’s library and laboratory are in poor condition, lacking shelves and basic amenities.
Genda therefore expressed sincere gratitude for Loka’s initiative, emphasizing its potential to enhance the learning environment and sustain enrollment.
She however urged alumni and community members to support this vital cause.
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