By Lonjezo Idrissa

A School Improvement Plan (SIP) committee renovated Chikonde Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) head teacher’s house after undergoing management training Creative Centre for Community Mobilisation (CRECCOM) organized under its Improving Education Qulaity in Community day Secondary Schools (IEQ-CDSS) project funded by Mastercard Foundation and Echidna Giving.

The organisation inculcated in the committee members the sense of owning their school projects. CRECCOM gave the committee K700 000 for various school projects.

One such project was to renovate their head teacher’s house.

The house had cracks on its walls and the floor. It also used to leak like hell during rainy season.

But thanks to SIP, the house is now wearing a new face, to the delight of the head teacher.

Ruthness Kabango, a member, said they followed all processes to procure materials for the maintenance works.

The committee also extended the head teacher’s officer at the Mulanje-based CDSS.

For many years the head teacher was operating in a small office which made his work difficult. The situation was worse during staff meetings.

The school’s deputy head teacher Kabango said meetings used to take place in classrooms after students knocked off.

“We also struggled to accommodate visitors,” she recalls.

Just as the head teacher’s house, the committee got K700 000 from CRECCOM for the office project and also a sign post for their school.

Now teachers are pleased to have a spacious office.

“We also store school equipment in the office,” said Kabango.

CRECCOM trained SIP committees in 36 CDSSs in Thyolo, Mulanje, Ntchisi and Chitipa districts.