Member of Parliament for Dowa Central, Annie Chibwana, has urged the Minister of Education to consider constructing a secondary school at Sidze to ease access to education for learners from Chilima, Kapotera, Kalipindile and surrounding areas.
She made the appeal in Parliament on Tuesday when she rose on a supplementary question, highlighting the hardships students—particularly girls—face in their pursuit of secondary education.
Chibwana told the House that many learners are compelled to walk more than 20 kilometres each day to reach the nearest secondary school, a situation she described as both unsafe and detrimental to academic performance.
She said fatigue from the long distances leaves students struggling to concentrate effectively during lessons, ultimately affecting their overall achievement.
The legislator stressed that the problem disproportionately affects girls, who are more vulnerable to risks associated with travelling such long distances.
She noted that some girls choose to drop out of school altogether due to the daily demands of the journey, further widening the gender gap in education within the constituency.
“Students are failing to learn properly because they are always exhausted,” Chibwana said. “For this reason, I asked the minister to consider my request so that students from my constituency are assisted accordingly. Communities have long been advocating for a school closer to their homes, and the need is now more urgent than ever.”
In response, Minister of Education, Science and Technology Bright Msaka assured Parliament that the government remains committed to expanding access to secondary education.
He said the administration would continue with the construction of secondary schools, building on projects initiated during the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government.
Msaka informed the House that his ministry will undertake a visit to Sidze to inspect and verify the land that community members have set aside for the proposed school.
He said such assessments are crucial in determining the feasibility and timeline of the project, and pledged that the ministry would move with speed once all preliminary evaluations are complete.
Chibwana later expressed satisfaction with the minister’s response, describing it as a positive step toward addressing the long-standing education challenges in her constituency.
She said the people of Dowa Central have demonstrated readiness by allocating land and are simply waiting for government action.
“We are very much eager to see the ministry come and start construction works since people in the area already allocated land for the project,” she said. “The community has done its part, and now we look forward to the government fulfilling its promise to support our children’s education.”
The legislator added that establishing a secondary school at Sidze would not only reduce travel distances but also significantly improve enrolment, retention and performance among learners across the affected areas.
