• PUPILS at Nkumbu Community School in Mpongwe District in class. Picture by JAMES KUNDA

By JAMES KUNDA –

MPONGWE is slowly making a positive mark in education as school infrastructure is being put up to increase enrolments among the local children.
Nkumbu Community School is inspiring hope in the residents as it gets upgraded to primary level with the aim of improving learning conditions for pupils in the area.
Mpongwe District Council has released K165,000 from the 2014 Constituency Development Fund (CDF) for the construction of a 1×2 classroom block at a site next to the old building, which is made of clay.
The school, located about 10 kilometres from the Boma, currently accommodates 234 pupils from grades one to seven.
It is in a deplorable state, and some children have been compelled to receive lessons from a nearby church, which is also built using clay.
Nkumbu school head teacher Charles Mumboto told the Copperbelt Times that it had been difficult to conduct lessons in such an environment despite the institution recording an average 70 per cent pass rate at grade seven every year.
“The project has been awarded to Chinese contractors who will also put up a VIP ablution block for both male and female pupils and teachers.
“The school has deplorable and inadequate ablution infrastructure, but the council has a separate allocation for a new VIP lavatory to fix that; we are happy that both projects are on course,” he said.
Mr Mumboto said the project, scheduled to be completed in three months, will help address the inadequate learning space and consequently motivate the local populace.
The only other school in the area is situated about one kilometre away from Nkumbu Community School and was upgraded to secondary level a few years ago.
Apart from infrastructure, the head teacher also bemoaned the inadequacy of teaching staff, as the school only has five qualified teachers, inclusive of the head teacher and his deputy.
The pupils currently share the two existing classrooms according to a quarterly timetable.
Masaiti District Planning Officer Widson Nyirenda said infrastructure was the key to the improvement of education standards.
Mr Nyirenda said it was important for the teachers and pupils to operate in a habitable environment.