GOMBWA PRIMARY SCHOOL COMMUNITY SENSITIZATION
Article by Caroline Kachipapa
As a one way of improving primary school education in rural districts, International Resources & Recycling Institute (IRRI) in partnership with Renew N Able Malawi (RENAMA) are implementing a Scottish Government funded project entitled ‘Sukulu yowala’ (School that Shines!) aimed at using solar powered electricity to improve learning outcomes of primary school students.
Primary school students in Thyolo have the chance to excel in their education through this project as they will now be able to study at night using the solar powered electricity.
During the launch and commissioning of the installed solar system under the Sukulu Yowala project on Friday the 11th of October, 2019 at Gombwa Primary School in Thyolo District, the Project Assistant Manager for RENAMA Eve Mkali said, electrical power plays a great role in improving education in this country, and this has been witnessed by the success of a similar project that RENAMA implemented in Phalombe District that has seen Dzenje Primary School becoming the best performing primary school in the country as of December 2018.
In her remarks, Mkali said the project chose to electrify Gombwa Primary school because the school is located far from the Electricity Grid and also because the school has not been doing well in terms of primary school leaving certificate exams and subsequent selection rate of students to secondary schools. Mkali also said, the school has 10 teachers and as such it affects the pass rate as well as the selection rate at the school.
We are hoping that with this electricity, we will improve teacher’s retention at the school and attract more teachers to come and teach at Gombwa Primary School as they will have electricity readily available at the school to charge their mobile devices and teach even after dark. We are also hoping that students will have more time to study, especially with camping for standard 8 students and therefore improve the selection rate.
In his remarks, the Head teacher for Gombwa Primary School Dickson Mtambo said, the project will help the learners to work hard by alleviating challenges of studying at night using the solar power. He also hopes that the project will play a key role in improving the pass rate of the learners which will in turn result in an increase in the selection rate. Mtambo also applauded RENAMA & IRRI for bringing the solar powered lights at their school, and he also urged RENAMA to continue developing other vulnerable schools in Thyolo district.
Concurring with Mtambo the chairman for Sukulu Yowala committee, Mathews Mdala said the project is a welcome development in their area because it will help to improve the performance of the students at the school. Mdala also said the solar system will also help the school to raise funds through the phone charging initiative which will make it easier to maintain the system in the long run. “We used to travel long distances just to charge our phones, so apart from improving the students pass rate, this solar power will also help community members to be charging their phones at the school.”
Eve Phiri a standard 8 pupil at Gombwa Primary School said, she’s very happy with the development because it will help her and other students to add their studying hours without worrying about electricity. I’m so happy with the installation of the solar system at our school as this will help me pass my PLSCE exams with flying colors. I’m also happy because this power is way better compared to ESCOM as we will not be experiencing blackouts.
Apart from RENAMA staff, the event was patronized by Teachers, students, traditional leaders, community members’ parents as well as the members of the clergy. Activities such as dramas, poetry, music, dancing spiced the event.