Zomba Urban Education District has awarded its best-performing teachers and schools with cash prizes, following outstanding results in the 2023/2024 Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education (PSLCE) examinations.
Sponsored by NBS Bank, the awards recognised St. Joseph Girls, Sacred Heart Boys, Mponda, Police, Cobbe Barracks, Bwaila, Zomba CCAP, Chikamveka, and Matiya primary schools, which collectively achieved an impressive 86.16% secondary school selection rate.
Speaking at the awards ceremony held at Zomba Stadium Hall, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Malawi Congress Party (MCP) Director of International Affairs, Patricia Kainga Nangozo, praised the teachers and schools for their dedication and hard work.
Nangozo urged teachers to remain committed to their profession to ensure even more learners are selected to secondary schools in the 2024/2025 academic year. She also celebrated Zomba Urban Education District’s distinction as the top-performing district nationwide in the 2023/2024 PSLCE selection.
As the guest of honour, Nangozo expressed personal pride in the achievements, noting that she is an alumna of Bwaila Primary School, which ranked third among the top-performing schools.
“These awards are meant to motivate schools in Zomba to maintain their top position. We will continue recognising teachers to encourage their hard work,” she said.
Addressing the issue of teacher promotions, Nangozo assured that the government is striving to promote long-serving teachers while also employing more educators to improve the teacher-learner ratio.
Chief Education Officer for Zomba Urban, Ignatius George Kameni, attributed the district’s success to strong collaboration between his office, teachers, and learners.
One of the award-winning teachers, Nastanzio Likaka of St. Joseph Girls Primary School, emphasised the value of dedication, saying, “Hard work pays. It is the key to success.”
NBS Cluster Manager for Southern and Eastern Regions, Gracious Changaya, said the bank felt compelled to sponsor the awards in recognition of the important role teachers play, noting that many of them are NBS Bank customers.
