ECM commends ZBS for recognizing, awarding Catholic Schools
The Catholic Education Commission an arm of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) has commended Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) for taking an initiative in recognizing and awarding outstanding girls students in the country.
ECM’s Education Secretary, Brother Pascal Mtuwana said this following an award to the out-standing girl from Mary Mount Secondary School in Mzuzu today which Malawi President Joyce Banda attended.
Brother Mtuwana said Catholic Schools in the country continue to shine in National Examinations hence the initiative taken by Zodiak will help to motivate and improve girls’ education in the country.
He said the education commission of the Catholic Church they will strive to maintain this truck record in the near future and at the same time share knowledge with Catholic schools which are not doing good to learn from the schools that are doing well.
According to Brother Mtuwana,this year alone, most Catholic Schools in the country have managed an MSCE pass rate ranging from 90 to100 percent.
He said Mtendere and Marist Secondary schools in Dedza diocese and Nankhunda, St Paul’s and St Patrick’s Seminaries in Zomba,Lilongwe and Mzuzu/Karonga dioceses respectively are among the boys Catholic Secondary Schools with 100 percent pass at MSCE.
He said Ludzi Girls in Mchinji, Archdiocese of Lilongwe is the only girls’ secondary school in the country with a 100 percent pass rate.
“Ludzi Girls has recorded 100 percent pass rate, with all students just between 8 and 40 points out of 71 girls, 61 students have qualified for University of Malawi entrance examinations,” said Brother Mtuwana.
According to Brother Mtuwana, Marymount, another Catholic girls secondary school in Mzuzu, has recorded 105 students out of 167 with points between 6 and 20.
Said Brother Mtuwana, “These encouraging results are also true for all the other Girls Catholic Schools in the country”.
He said ECM is particularly pleased with results from the Catholics girls’ secondary schools especially, at this time, when girls’ access to education is seriously compromised due to a number of factors.
“The commission, therefore, commends all Girls Catholic Schools for their remarkable feat at the just announced examination results, and indeed all the others before. This is a clear sign that the schools are dedicated in offering quality education to girls. This, in essence, contributes to attainment of some of the Millennium Development Goals: girl/women empowerment and poverty reduction. There is a popular adage which says when you educate a girl, you educate a nation,” he said
Following the consistent beauty of the Catholic Secondary School’s results from the past two years, a local Private Radio, Zodiak Broadcasting Station’s scholarships to study Medicine in China have mostly been offered to girls from Marymount, Ludzi and St. Mary’s among others.
Meanwhile, the ECM’s Education Commission says it is making every effort to maintain and in other cases improve to attain the best grades across all Catholic schools.
“We will, in due course, effect a Catholic Education policy, and also start holding workshops for managers and teachers of catholic schools to share experiences, challenges and best practices as we continue the noble work that Christ left to us – teaching. Christ is our role model,” said Brother Mtuwana
Mary Tiyanjane Chitani,a 16 year old girl from Mary Mount Secondary School has since been awarded for scooping six points during last year’s Malawi School Certificate of Education and she is set to study Medicine in China.