By Steven Godfrey Mkweteza
The Beautify Malawi Trust {BEAM TRUST} has partnered with Maranatha Private Schools to offer scholarships to a total of fifty-five vulnerable students for the next five academic years.
In an interview during the school’s graduation ceremony held in Blantyre, the special advisor to the first lady Gertrude Mutharika on health and planning Emma Kavumbe said the bid is one way of encouraging vulnerable students to achieve their life-long dreams and also assist government efforts in promoting quality education in the education sector.
“Our research has found out that a lot of intelligent young people mostly the girl child are failing to pursue their dream because they lack financial and material support. We therefore, wanted to give the very vulnerable students quality education and also to encourage them to maintain moral values,” said Kavumbe.
According to Kavumbe, Maranatha private schools were identified after being convinced that the institutions met the required standards.
“We check if the lectures who teach in the institutions are qualified. We also look if syllabus of the institution’s match with the international standards. We are also interested to know if the institutions have teaching and learning materials of good quality that will produce credible students. Therefore, Maranatha was identified as one of the best performing schools in the country,” said Kavumbe.
Kavumbe also advised the 232 graduations to refrain from indulging in immoral behaviors once finished their studies, saying most graduates become reckless with their life once finished their studies as compared with then they are at schools.
Commenting on the school’s current performance, the managing director for the academy Ernest Kaonga decried the low morale that the students registered after the recent introduction of the new academic curriculum in the country.
“Honestly speaking, it has been hard for the students to cope with the new curriculum. Students had fears and negative perceptions about the developments but now we have managed to boost their self-esteem and hope for the better in the next academic years,” said Kaonga.
During the event, students who performed best in class were presented with awards to instill their self-confidence and work hard in classes.
Maranatha private schools started in 2006 and were the only private academy which produced students who scored 6 points in 2018. The schools managed to send 164 students into public universities across the country in the last academic year.
