Government devising ways of sustaining pupils in school

Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Security Ronald Chitotela has said there was need to keep children that are enrolled in schools as grade one pupils until they complete their basic and tertiary education.

Mr. Chitotela said the country has been facing a challenge of enrolling pupils in great number but failing to sustain their stay in school up to the basic and tertiary completion level.

He said government would now want to lay a strong foundation of education in order to guarantee development of the country.

He said government was therefore planning to build more schools and universities in various provinces which include Luapula.

Mr. Chitotela was speaking in Kawambwa today when he officiated at the Airtel and Unity Finance donation of computers to Chimpempe Secondary School in Kawambwa district.

Unity Finance donated 10 computers valued at KR80, 000 while Airtel donated three computers worth KR25, 000 respectively.

He advised pupils and teachers at Chimpempe Secondary School to guard the donated items jealously and discouraged them from engaging in any form of vandalism to school property.

He further urged the school management to monitor the usage of the computers to make sure that they were used for education purposes and not for anything immoral or illegal.

Mr. Chitotela, who is also Pambashe Member of Parliament (MP), disclosed that government was very happy with the contribution and investment which cooperating partners such as Airtel and Unity Finance were making in improving the learning and teaching environment in Zambia.

He said the diverse support such as literacy materials, desks, computers and infrastructure renovation which the private sector has been providing was commendable because it would largely address the
challenges that Zambian youth were facing.

Mr. Chitotela has since called for collective efforts in promoting youth empowerment through education and has urged the private sector to invest in youth as part of their corporate social responsibility.

And Unity Finance Marketing Director Gabriel Chansa said young people need to be exposed to a lot of Information Communication Technology (ICT) for them to fully benefit from education.

Mr. Mwansa stated that access to ICTs was a sure way of empowering young people with marketable skills that would benefit them in future.

He disclosed that Unity Finance has set aside a total of about KR300 thousand under its friend in need campaign aimed at giving back to the communities.

And Airtel Zonal Business Manager for Luapula and Northern provinces Stockley Matwi disclosed that his company was passionate about education in Zambia especially for people in rural communities.

Mr. Matwi said Airtel believed that quality education was a key component in enhancing Zambian youth’s economic empowerment and national development.

He disclosed that so far 25 schools have benefited from his company’s donation of computers in rural areas while more than 470 schools have been supported countrywide through its corporate social responsibility.

Mr. Matwi has since pledged his company’s continued support towards government’s efforts in investing and improving rural communities.

Meanwhile, chief Kabanda of the Chisinga people of Kawambwa district expressed happiness that his area was now being recognized in terms of development.

He said Kawambwa was longer isolated because of the current government’s commitment to addressing challenges the people were facing in the district.