Schools not places of worship–PS
Ndola , January 12, 2015,ZANIS—–The Provincial Administration on the Copperbelt Province has observed that church gatherings are not supposed to use school buildings for their meetings.
Copperbelt Provincial Permanent Secretary Howard Sikwela made the observation amid concerns from various churches over increased rentals by Head Teachers.
The Permanent Secretary noted that churches were allowed to congregate from schools because of scarce land.
“The law does not allow churches to congregate in public schools, being a Christian nation some churches are being allowed to meet at various schools that does not mean they should not meet the maintenance of the schools, they have to help with maintaining school infrastructure hence they are being asked to pay something,” he said.
Rev. Sikwela was reacting to complaints raised by some church leaders on rentals that they pay to school managers in Ndola district.
Various Pastors in the district have raised concerns on why they are charged varying amounts by different school managers.
The Permanent Secretary has however advised the Ministry of Education not to take advantage of the churches congregating in schools by charging them exaggerated fees.
He has further appealed to the Ndola City Council to consider churches when it comes to land allocation.
He said the church plays an important role in maintaining peace in the country hence the need for them to be treated fairly.
“People always run to the church whenever calamity strikes, so we need to create a mutual relationship with the church as it is our source of blessings,” he said.