An educationist calls on pupils to concentrate on their studies

–Muchinga Province Education Officer (PEO) Jobbicks Kalumba has called on school-going children in the area not to engage themselves in early marriages.

Mr Kalumba says pupils should prioritise their education and ensure that they attend classes regularly.

Speaking to the Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) at Chinsali Day Secondary school where he was found teaching a Grade 9 class during his continued visit of schools in the area, Mr Kalumba said pupils must concentrate on their studies and make education their priority instead of engaging themselves in early marriages and other negative vices.

Mr Kalumba noted that some parents are struggling to send their children to school in order to prepare them for future challenges, hence the need for pupils to lean on education for a better tomorrow.

The PEO has also appealed to Education Standard Officers in the districts to help pupils realize their dreams.

Mr Kalumba said Education Standard Officers should strive to be role models to the newly recruited teachers in the province in order to promote the delivery of quality education to the pupils.

He said for new teachers to be motivated they need many role models like the Standard Education Officers to demonstrate how to effectively conduct lessons in class.

Mr Kalumba also urged the Education Standard Officers to be effective leaders by not forgetting that they are teachers who were promoted from being a class teacher due to the fact that they were good teachers.

And Muchinga Province Zambia National Union of Teachers (ZNUT) Provincial Organising Secretary, Nondo Kasanda, has hailed the PEO for finding time to teach in class.

Mr Kasanda, who described Mr Kalumba as a practical leader, said Muchinga Province is set to improve the performance with regards to national examinations especially at Grade 9 where it has been doing badly.

He said for the PEO to go in class to teach is motivation enough to both the pupils and the teachers to work extra hard.

Mr Kasanda said he is happy that all the schools in the province have complied with the directive by the office of the PEO to ensure that learning for all examination classes in all the schools in the province continue until May 5.

The Provincial Education Office in Muchinga has directed that all the examination classes in the province close for only one week and called on the teachers to ensure that they fully utilise the three weeks to adequately prepare their pupils in various subjects.

And Davies Banda, a senior teacher at Chinsali Day Secondary School, said he is impressed that teachers teaching pupils in examination classes have heeded to the directive to teach during the holiday.

Mr Banda told ZANIS in an interview that lessons have been going on very well, adding that teachers are trying their level best to ensure that the pupils produce good results at the end of the year.

Mr Banda also encouraged the pupils to utilize the holiday lessons, adding that with the change of the examination time table, pupils ought to utilize their holiday lessons so that come October, they will be ready to sit for the final examinations.