By Mary Makhiringa
Parliamentary Committee on Education, Social and Community Affairs on Saturday toured St. Louis Community Day Secondary School and Balaka Secondary School in Balaka to assess the implementation of the free secondary education policy.
Chairperson of the committee, Mutani Tambala, said the policy was improving access to secondary education, particularly in community day secondary schools, but noted challenges affecting learners in boarding institutions.
“The programme is helping many learners to access education, especially in community day secondary schools where students are paying no fees, but in boarding schools learners are still required to pay boarding fees which is a challenge to many families,” said Tambala.
Tambala observed that while learners in community day secondary schools were largely learning at no cost, those in boarding schools continued to face financial barriers due to boarding fees.
At Balaka Secondary School, student representative Aron Soko commended government for introducing free secondary education, saying it had eased the burden on many families.Soko said the policy had enabled some learners who had dropped out due to lack of fees to return to school, while others had transferred from boarding schools to day schools where education is completely free.
At St. Louis Montfort Community Day Secondary School, head teacher Lester Matewere confirmed an increase in enrolment following the introduction of the policy.
Matewere said about 100 students had returned to school, attributing the rise to the removal of school fees in community day secondary schools.
He, however, noted that the increase in enrolment had put pressure on limited resources such as classrooms, teaching materials and staff.
The committee is expected to compile a report on its findings and make recommendations to improve implementation of the free secondary education programme across the country.
