Minister of Education, Douglas Siakalima, says there is need to reawaken learners in educational institutions to the reality of entrepreneurship through production units.
Speaking when he paid a courtesy call on Katete District Commissioner, Malan Zimba, Mr Siakalima said this can be done through realigning subjects such as agriculture science, financial literacy and through the establishment of production units from as early as primary school.
Mr Siakalima said this would broaden the learners’ minds to think beyond white-collar jobs to being employment creators and people who did not wait for a salary at the end of the month.
“It is just a reawakening that our children must grow as entrepreneurs. We want to reawaken our kids that entrepreneurship is the inborn thing,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Zimba said there was a need to engage the traditional leadership on school boundaries so as to curb encroachment.
He said encroachment of school land by communities had reduced the size of school land and limited the capacity for learning institutions to establish production units.
“Our challenge is that production units are usually done in the rainy season when they are supposed to be done throughout the year, so, there is a need to equip schools. Another challenge is that of encroachment of school land by communities and this requires the engagement of the traditional leadership so that boundaries can be known,” he said.
Mr Zimba also highlighted the need for value addition of the school production units as a means of income generation and competitiveness on the market.
The minister is in the province to relaunch and reawaken production units in schools.
And Minister of Education, Douglas Siakalima, has appreciated the role that the traditional leadership plays in fostering education in the country.
Speaking when he paid a courtesy call on Chieftainess Kawaza of the Chewa people of Sinda and Katete Districts, Mr Siakalima said the encouragement, sensitization, and awareness on the value of education that the traditional leadership gives to their subjects has helped see many in school.
“We are really grateful because there are a few people who contribute towards encouraging people to take their children to school,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chieftainess Kawaza appealed for boarding facilities in day secondary schools to curb teenage pregnancies among the learners.
Chieftainess Kawaza said most of the teen pregnancy cases that the district was recording were not from boarding schools but from day secondary schools.
The traditional leader said even just boarding houses that were within the school premises, would tremendously contribute towards the fight against teen pregnancies as the girls would be protected and would not be vulnerable.
“These early pregnancies which we are recording, are not coming from boarding schools, they are being recorded in these day secondary schools which are open.
So, our appeal is to your effort through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) which we have, if we can build boarding houses where female pupils can be cooking from long as they are within the school premises,” she said.
The Minister who is in the province to reawaken production units within schools also paid a courtesy call on the Paramount Chief Kalonga Gawa Undi and Katete District Commissioner Malan Zimba.
Does a human being need to be caged for them to behave. This is nonsense , Women know what they are doing and what they involve themselves in – we are now equal and both have same right to choice. so that one who chooses pregnancy over school – kutumpa uko and leave such people behind pls,dont waste our tax money on ungrateful people. Othewise also build boarding schools for boys also. Otherwise this is gebder apartheid.