Zambia: Kasama Central Member of Parliament, Sibongile Mwamba has asked the government to consider constructing more boarding schools. The Member of Parliament has shared that the initiative will also promote the education of the girl child.
Mwamba says this will also help with the successful implementation of the Keeping Girls in School programme (KGS). She noted that many girls fail to progress in school due to the long distances that they cover to get to school.
Mwamba adds that this has also contributed to some parents resorting to marrying off their girl children.
She made these remarks in Kasama after checking on selected Constituency Development Fund (CDF) projects. The officials have shared that keeping girls in school is a major initiative for the government of Zambia.
All the provinces in the district have implemented the project in various stages of the government.
Sibongile Mwamba emphasised the need for government and all stakeholders to give an opportunity to the girl child, including those who dropped out of school due to pregnancies.
Meanwhile, she has also challenged girls to take advantage of the Keeping Girls in School (KGS) programme to acquire education.
“Girls, please, if you are out of school, I encourage you to enroll. It is not too late. Even for those mothers who had children at a tender age, this is a time with free education you can enroll in school, it is open to everybody. If we can have an educated society, leadership and governance can be much easier as we can all understand each other on the same page,” she said.
The law maker further appealed to government to increase the number of girls on the bursary scheme in order to enable them to acquire an education.
“When you look at the applications in schools, the number of girls is less compared to the boys. But if we increase the number of girls, it will help fight early marriages as more girls will be in school, and this is very important to society,” she said.
Government is implementing the KGS programme through which it provides support to girls in secondary school.
The programme has now extended to tertiary education.