BY ROGERS KALERO
KAMAKONDE Ward Councillor Christopher Chileshe and his area Member of Parliament (MP) Binwell Mpundu have secured a piece of land for the construction of a full-fledged secondary school in Kamakonde Township under the World Bank funding
Kamakonde Ward Councillor Christopher Chileshe said the area MP and him, as area Councillor, secured the piece of land after persuading the owner of the same land to be used for the construction of a full-fledged secondary on the promise that the council will look for an alternative piece of land
In an interview in Kitwe yesterday, Mr Chileshe said the full-fledged secondary school to be constructed in the ward will have 21 classrooms, an administration block, two laboratories, an ablution block and teachers houses
He said the construction of a full-fledged secondary school in the area was in line with the Free Education policy of the New Dawn government of President Hakainde Hichilema
“With the free education policy in place, it is imperative that a number of things are put in place like the construction of schools to meet the ever increasing demand of children seeking to get to school. This is why the construction of schools is very important
“So when an opportunity came for the construction of a full-fledged secondary school in Kamakonde, the area MP for Nkana constituency Binwell Mpundu and myself, worked hard to secure a piece of land for the construction of a full-fledged secondary school,’’ Mr Chileshe said
Last week, Mr Mpundu said Free Education policy has created a scramble for the limited spaces available forcing schools to over enroll with class rooms accommodating as many as 170 pupils on one session with most of them sitting on the floor
Mr Mpundu, however, said the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) has also created an opportunity for elected leaders like MPs, Councillors and other stakeholders to address the inadequacy in classroom spaces and the shortage of desks in classrooms which has been forcing most pupils to sit on the floor
Mr Mpundu, who is also former Kitwe District Commissioner (DC), was speaking at the weekend when he visited Kamakonde Primary School to handover the construction site for the construction of a 1 x 5 classroom block to the contractor who has indicated to move on site next week to start construction works.
“The school currently has inadequate classrooms and desks to an extent that some classes have 170 pupils packed in one session, some of whom are sitting on the floor.
“The picture indicates two scenarios, namely that free education has created a scramble for the limited spaces available and schools have over enrolled because the policy now dictates that each child must have a chance to get into school with minimal financial burdens, on the other hand the CDF creates an opportunity for us to address this inadequacy in classroom spaces,’’ Mr Mpundu said.
