Government says it does not want to see any school going child sitting on the floor during lessons by 2023.
Mongu District Commissioner, Morgan Akabeswa says for this reason government through the Ministry of Education has embarked on rehabilitating broken down desk frames using constituency development fund (CDF).
Mr. Akabeswa said this when officiating at the flagging off of 75 rehabilitated school desks at Kambule STEM secondary school in Mongu district on Wednesday.
“Colleagues, as a district we should strive to ensure that we mop-up all our broken desk frames so that we rehabilitate them. Mind you, this is a directive from the Head of State that by 2023 all learners should be sitting on good desks while accessing quality education,” he said.
Mr Akabeswa told the meeting upon assuming power, the New Dawn government ensured that it employed health workers and teachers which he said has come with the challenges of accommodation and classroom spaces.
“Your government is on course of ensuring that resources are being mobilised to counter the challenges that have come with the massive employment and the free education policy.
“Many critics said where will this government going to get the money, but during our meeting with President Hakainde Hichilema recently, he assured that there is plenty of money which we are getting from those who stole from the treasury,” he told the gathered teachers.
Mr Akabeswa also advised in the infrastructure business to seize this opportunity brought about by government by constructing more houses so that newly recruited teachers and health workers can rent, saying this will result in more money in circulation in the country.
“Government had a vision in the massive employment because more business ventures have been opened up. Here we are today, we don’t want to give business to outsiders to compete in a foreign district, but we want our own people especially businessmen and women to grab this opportunity by making business with their own government,” he said.
The District Commissioner further said children that were hanging around in the streets have an opportunity now to come back to school due to the free education policy introduced by government and therefore, there is urgent need to ensure that more desks are produced especially that the district is endowed with plenty of wood.
And Mongu District Education Board Secretary, Ilutombi Lisimba said schools in her district have the capacity to rehabilitate desks in order to reduce on desk deficit that the sector is currently facing.
“We are giving you the product coming from our schools. We have four schools in Mongu district that were tasked to rehabilitate desks and the schools have successfully done the job within the time frame that they were given and they are handing over a total of 75 that they have rehabilitated,” Mrs Lisimba said.