Dzaleka CDSS wins 2021 national schools science fair
Dzaleka Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) of Dowa has won this year’s National Schools Science Fair, held on Tuesday at Kamuzu Academy in Kasungu.
The event was organised by the National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST) under the theme Scientific and Technological Innovation; Catalyst to Understanding Nature.
Both Minister of Education Agnes NyaLonje and her deputy Madalitso Kambauwa Wilima were in attendance at the fair.
Justin Waka, a Form Three Congolese student at Dzaleka CDSS, presented an impressive software he developed to reduce traffic accidents if adopted by the Directorate Road Traffic and Safety Services. The police called it 6GR system. Over 40 secondary schools participated in the fair.
Speaking to the media, Waka said the software could help the traffic officers to easily identify drivers who habitually commit road accidents and punish them.
He said: “Most drivers in the country are reckless which results in accidents because they over speed or drive while drunk. So, with the support from the school and fellow students, I thought of developing the 6GR software application which is a database that enables the traffic officers to record a driver who has violated a certain rule.
“The software automatically sends the data to the central server while giving back feedback to the officer through phone if that particular driver committed a similar case or another before.”
In her remarks, NyaLonje congratulated the school and all the other schools that participated saying most students in the country have got potential to become great scientist.
Commenting on the development, National Commission for Science and Technology director general Elijah Wanda appreciated the projects the participating schools showcased at the fair and promised to commercialise the innovations so that the students and schools should benefit.
Dzaleka CDSS went away with K500 000 cash prize and K500 000 shopping voucher from Lab Enterprise and a Junior Talent innovation scholarship at the Malawi University of Science and Technology (Must) which has also been offered to other top 10 winners.
