Press Trust urges maintenance culture in schools

Public charity Press Trust has called for a culture of maintenance of school resources such as desks and tables, saying it is the best way to maximise usability and cost-saving in the country’s public schools.

Trustee Linda Phiri said this on Monday when the trust handed over 446 desks to Chayamba Secondary School in Kasungu and 186 desks to Madisi Secondary School in Dowa.

She said: “Anything made by human hand has a specific lifespan, but with maintenance, the lifespan is increased. The other thing is that maintenance cost is far less than the cost of replacing.”

The desks were refurbished and handed over to the schools under the ongoing Put the Child on a Desk campaign Press Trust is implementing in public schools nationwide.

Phiri said learning while seated on a desk is not a luxury, but a right of every student as it gives them comfort, encouragement and motivation to work hard.

Chayamba Secondary School head teacher Alex Bwanthi said before Press Trust’s intervention, about 30 out of every 100 students, mainly in forms one and two, were learning while seated on the floor.

Press Trust introduced Put the Child on the Desk campaign in 2011 and the project is expected to continue for the next five years with an estimated budget of K40 million. n