Overburdened school accommodates displaced students in the aftermath of Cyclone Freddy
Cyclone Freddy Response in Malawi
As thousands of pupils in school uniforms mill around the grounds of Jombo Primary School at Nchalo in Chikwawa, the sight can be a tad confusing, if not spellbinding.
Before January 2023, the school reflected the situation of most public schools in Malawi: short on teachers, high teacher-to-pupil ratio, lacking teachers' houses, inadequate school blocks, and it had only one school uniform.
By May 2023, much of that had worsened or become more confusing. It is still short on teachers, has an even higher teacher-to-pupil ratio, lacks teachers' houses, and has woefully inadequate school blocks. Moreover, on its playing grounds and in classes, there is a riot of colorful school uniforms.
Rose Malunga is a veteran of education administration, having held her position as headteacher since 2014, but the situation is testing her mettle.
"In January, we were joined by learners from a school at Matsukambiya after the government relocated their parents from that area to near this place, so these pupils are here permanently," Malunga explains.
While the institution was still coming to terms with the increased enrollment of pupils from Matsukambiya, Cyclone Freddy worsened an already out-of-hand situation after forcing them to accommodate learners from another school.
"We were joined by learners from another school at Mazongoza after Cyclone Freddy flooded their houses and they were displaced," she says.
On the playground and in classrooms, there is an uneasy symmetry of colours: green, blue, brown, and purple uniforms.
Before the influx of new learners, the school had less than 2,000 students with 29 teachers. Its pupil-teacher ratio was already high enough, but the addition of about 500 more learners (leading to a current enrollment of 2,446) has stretched the school's resources and further worsened its teacher-pupil ratio, as none of the teachers from the learners' previous two schools joined Jombo.
"Most of the learners who have just come in have many challenges. These problems range from psychological to physical challenges considering the traumatizing experiences they have gone through," she says.
"But we can't reject them because they have nowhere else to go. We have welcomed them, and they have settled in well as one school," Malunga says.
The school has five blocks of classrooms, each with two adjoining classrooms, and one shelter, making a total of 12 classrooms. Additionally, the school has 28 streams, 16 of which hold open-air classes.
"Our biggest challenge is the lack of classroom space, but we must make do with what we have. Some classes are held inside classrooms while others are conducted outside under the shade," she explains.
However, Malunga is grateful for the assistance the institution has received from various organizations to ease its challenges.
"We have received much help. We have been provided with buckets, soap, portable boards, teaching, learning, and assessment materials, and various items that have been distributed to learners," she says.
The European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), through UNICEF, has constructed an entire board component which comprises solar panels, tanks, toilets, and water points at the school to help alleviate some of its challenges.
To mitigate some of the learning challenges faced by learners, the school holds remedial classes, but the effects of Cyclone Freddy have made the school intensify these special lessons.
"Normally, we allocate the learners according to their abilities so that they can do activities based on their abilities to progress together. We always hold remedial classes, but we have intensified them because we realize that most of the pupils who joined us have many problems catching up," Malunga says.
While the school's enrollment is 2,446, she believes the figure will increase as learners from the other two schools are still joining.
Although learners at the school are not too happy with the crowded classes, they have accepted the situation due to the reduced circumstances of the other learners who joined them.
"Our classes are overcrowded, which makes concentration a bit difficult," says White Sankhulani, who is 13 years old and in standard 7.
Another standard seven learner, Ketiwe Kabokosi, 14, adds: "They are our peers, and we have integrated with them very well."
