Despite several interventions to promote the education of the girl-child in Nkhata Bay, authorities have warned that the school dropout rate among girls is increasing in the district.
This comes at a time when various stakeholders in the country are allocating more resources towards sensitising communities on the importance of educating the girl-child.
Speaking at Kachere Village during a sensitisation meeting organised by the Girls Empowerment Network (Genet), Member of Parliament for Nkhata Bay South Constituency Emily Chinthu Phiri said poverty ranks as one of the factors fuelling school dropouts in the district.
“Poverty is a big challenge among communities here. Sometimes parents don’t take care of their children, which forces girls to look for support from men,” said Phiri.
She added that there is lack of commitment from chiefs and communities in arresting the problem.
“As you can see where we are [Kachere Village] there are a lot of bars and video showrooms very close to the school. And instead of going to school, children end up watching videos and even going into the bars,” Phiri added.
She then called on authorities to introduce by-laws that would penalise parents who marry off their girl-child.
While admitting the challenges, Senior Chief Fukamapiri said his subjects already set by-laws that punish parents of children who skip classes to watch films.
He said once a parent is found guilty on a child dropout case, the family pays a goat or chickens so as to deter would-be offenders.
Genet Project Coordinator Twambilile Kayira said the project would ensure that both girls and boys remain in school through parents’ advocacy.
“Nkhata Bay is one of the areas which have many girls who drop out of school and has a high rate of gender based violence and child marriage, so we want to end that. We are optimistic that by the end of five years, the rate of girls dropping out of school would drop,” Kayuni said.
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