Reduced school fees affirm PF's "education for all policy" – Mwila
Patriotic Front (PF) secretary general Davies Mwila addresses journalists at the party secretariat on April 25, 2018 - Picture by Tenson Mkhala
Patriotic Front Secretary General Davies Mwila has called for discipline among students and academic staff in higher learning institutions.
And Mwila says the "listening PF government" is implementing its vision for quality, lifelong and accessible education for all, adding that the reduced school fees will help address early child marriage and reduce school dropouts.
In his PF's weekly newsletter to News Diggers! Mwila expressed concern that riots and disorder were destroying public institutions as well as private properties.
"A call for discipline in higher institutions of learning: While the Patriotic Front has made unprecedented progress in the Education sector, there is a particular enemy of academic progress and general order that threatens to undo all the good that we have achieved together as a nation. Indiscipline is a mortal threat to life and limb. Riots and disorder are some of its evil tools that work the destruction of public and private property. We encourage students and academic staff alike to exhibit exemplary behaviour," he stated.
"Differences are a fact of life; but it is the management of those differences that distinguishes the disciplined from the undisciplined; the reasonable from the unreasonable; the wheat from the chaff. Universities are after all founded on reason and academic excellence. We therefore appeal to University and Tertiary education students to think twice before they resort to wanton destruction of property."
And Mwila stated that the PF government believed that improved education and skills development were instrumental in creating a better Zambia.
"In line with the Seventh National Development Plan, the PF government of President Edgar Chagwa Lungu believes that improved education and skills development are instrumental in creating a Zambia that is better able to respond to any social and economic development challenges we may face as a nation. The availability of a skilled workforce is necessary to support the transition of all economic sectors towards highly productive activities, raise labour productivity, attract investment into the country, reduce poverty and build resilience in the economy," he stated.
Mwila further assured that the "listening Patriotic Front government" was implementing its vision for quality, lifelong and accessible education for all, .
"It is for this reason that the vision of the Ministry of Education under the PF government is geared to provide "Quality, Lifelong Education for all which is Accessible, Inclusive and Relevant to Individual, National and Global Needs value Systems". In achieving this aspiration, the PF government has taken practical steps to make education affordable to all eligible learners by reducing or completely doing away with school fees that were identified as one of the barriers to accessing education at various levels. A listening PF government is minimising the cost of education for parents and guardians towards the education of their children," he stated.
Meanwhile, Mwila stated that PF's reduced school fees would help to address early child marriage and reduce volume of school dropouts.
"PF reduced school fees will help to address early child marriage and reduce volume of school dropouts. As Choma based Musokotwane Compassion Mission Zambia (MCMZ) Executive Director, Sibbuku Genious Musokotwane recently observed, this directive by the PF government to reduce user fees does not only provide relief to parents and guardians finding it difficult to put their children in school, but it also demonstrates PF government's practical commitment to end child marriage," he stated.
Mwila further stated that aided schools should also be considerate by reducing school fees.
"We would however like to appeal to Aided Schools to follow our lead and be considerate whenever they fix school fees for their learners. The PF government would appreciate a situation where fees charged by Aided Schools are comparable to the ones approved in Public Schools," stated Mwila.
World Vision launches campaign against child marriage