Hiwa pledges continued govt support for Massa

Malawi Ministry of Education will review Malawi Secondary Schools Association (Massa) talent identification budget so that the programme continues to deliver its objective.

Deputy Minister of Education Chikumbutso Hiwa said this on the sidelines of Massa Presidential Initiative on Sports (PIS) talent identification programme that took place at Lilongwe Girls Secondary School.

Hiwa was responding to concerns that the programme was underfunded, which has led to limited returns.

“We will review the whole programme as a ministry in collaboration with the Ministry of Sports. This is a an important programme which aims at unearthing hidden talent at grass roots,” he said.

Hiwa promised to take action on South East Education Division (Seed) for failing to participate in the programme this year.

The failure meant young talent from Machinga, Mangochi, Balaka and Zomba were not trained by qualified coaches who facilitated the 10-day programme which started on March 28 and finished on April 5.

“We will investigate the conduct of Seed and establish what really went wrong. Once we find the truth, we will act using laid-down procedures. This really is a serious matter as the failure has deprived budding talent of exposure,” said Hiwa.

Massa vice-president Siveria Chalira had earlier expressed dismay at the conduct of Seed and had urged the deputy minister to act on the issue.