Govt given 48 hours to open schools in Blantyre, Lilongwe

Teachers teaching in private schools in the country under the banner Union of Private School Teachers (UPST) have given government 48 hours to open schools in cities of Blantyre and Lilongwe else there will be consequences.

According to the teachers, if government fails to honor their demands, they will be left with no choice but to hold a vigil at the Ministry of Education Headquarters in the capital city.

The ultimatum follows government’s last minute decision to have schools from the two cities still closed in the wake of Cholera outbreak which has devastated the country.

Schools across the country were opened on January 3, 2023 but the education ministry in collaboration with the ministry of health delayed opening of schools in Blantyre and Lilongwe for two weeks. A development which displeased owners of private schools across the country.

Private school teachers’ president Paul Kasanga, while demanding in a letter addressed to ministries of Education and Health that schools in Blantyre and Lilongwe should be opened by January 9, 2023, said government did not consider a number factors which are fundamental to education in the country.

According to the teachers, they need urgent action in handling the matter and government must be proactive in putting in place sustainable measures in dealing with such cases instead of paralyzing education as it is in this case.

“This statement had no statistical basis to say that Blantyre and Lilongwe do not have enough boreholes in schools as compared with other districts where learning is in progress. In fact, drilling boreholes is an expensive and long-term project, yet we need urgent action,” read part of the statement as quoted by Nation Online.

The teachers have also downplayed government’s decision to re-introduce E-learning, saying the move flopped during the Covid-19 lockdown.