Government to build more technical schools for girls

President Rupiah Banda has said that the country cannot afford to ignore women and girls who account for more than half of the population in its quest to attain development.

He said Zambia needs more scientists, technologists and mathematicians to be able to position herself properly globally as well as to consistently address issues regarding national development from a scientific and technological perceptive.

Mr Banda said in a speech read on his behalf by Vice-President George Kunda that participation of women in science and technology was not only a right but a prerequisite for achieving the Vision 2030 and internationally agreed development goals.

The president was speaking during the commemoration of the 2011 international women’s day at the Lusaka show grounds under the theme, ’Equal Access to Education, Training and Science and Technology: Pathway to Decent Work for Women.’

Mr Banda said the Ministry of Education had embarked on a countrywide programme to build technical schools for girls in each province to enable them enter the world of science and technology.

The president said to address the challenges that the women and girls faced in the education system during the Fifth National Development Plan (FNDP) period there was a significant increase in access to education which led to increase in construction and rehabilitation of education infrastructure coupled with the recruitment of teachers.

“This resulted in an increase in pupil school enrolment from 2.9 million in 2005 to 3.6 million in 2009. Our efforts to ensure equal access to education are bearing fruit as we have witnessed an improvement in the Gender Parity Index (GPI) from 0.95 in 2005 to 0.99 in 2009 at primary level,” he said.

Mr Banda said this was in line with Millennium Development Goal (MDG) number two on achieving primary education[pullquote].Ministry of Education permanent secretary Andrew Phiri  also disclosed in an interview in Lusaka that government  plans to build 37 day high schools and recruit over 7,000 teachers this year[/pullquote]

He added that equal Gender parity index has improved at high school level from 0.81 to 0.87 during the same period.

He President was also happy that the Gender in Development Division has already embarked on a programme to empower grassroot women across the country with skills and financial support through grants as well as providing agro technologies such as drip irrigation, treadle pumps and hammermills in all the 150 constituencies across the country.

“This is the clear demonstration of the interpretation of the theme in that we are promoting appropriate skills, science and technology at the level where most of our women operate. This is part of the promise that my Government pledged to fulfill by taking development to all corners of Zambia,” he said.

Ministry of Education permanent secretary Andrew Phiri also disclosed in an interview in Lusaka that government plans to build 37 day high schools and recruit over 7,000 teachers this year.

“As a ministry, and as a government under the able leadership of President Banda, we are focused on the development of the country. We are taking school infrastructure everywhere where our people live because we understand that an educated society plays an important role in the development of the country,” he said.

Gender and Women in Development Minister Sarah Sayifwanda who was overwhelmed with the level of participation for this years Women’s Day commemoration, said that women would continue supporting Government for empowering them with skills and tools to make their lives better as well as allowing them to contribute to national development.

US Ambassador to Zambia Mark Storella announced at the same function that his Government would next year offer 16,000 academic scholarships to orphans and vulnerable children in Zambia of which 60 percent of these scholarships are for young women.

And the United Nations (UN) acting resident coordinator Iyorlumun Uhaa said empowering women remains at the heart of the organisation to build their capacity and ensure that their voices are heard.

“Therefore, education in science, technology and mathematics should be given proper attention if meaningful development was to be attained especially in view of the positive impact that technologies such as mobile phones are having on society across the country,” Mr Banda said.

He said at this level, a country needed a systematic approach to education and training in order to harness technology such as information communication technology (ICT) in all spheres of development.