LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Ministry of Education says it’s working partnership with the National Construction Industry Council of Malawi (NCIC) will see the ministry having quality and sustainable infrastructure safe for learners.
Secretary for Education Dr Mangani Chilala Katundu made the remarks on Wednesday at ministry’s headquarters in Lilongwe during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Ministry of Education and NCIC.
The MoU will see NCIC building the capacity of local artisans engaged in the ongoing construction of 10900 classroom blocks under the Malawi Education Reform Programme (MERP) to ensure they come up will qualify infrastructure.
Dr Katundu said the trainings will produce artisans whose skills will be utilised in other self-help projects under Ministry of Education and projects in other equally important sectors such as health.
“The purpose of this collaboration with NCIC is quality, Ministry of Education has standards, standards of what constitutes a safe and appropriate classroom and NCIC will provide us with the necessary support and it will go beyond this project. We will be working with them in other projects,” he said.
Dr Katundu added that the partnership will also enable NCIC conduct spot checks on projects under the ministry and bring to book contractors whose works will be of substandard.
On MERP project whose classes will accommodate almost 700,000 learners across the country, Dr Katundu said once completed, it will provide learners with good learning environment free from harsh conditions.
In his remarks NCIC Chief Executive Officer, Engineer Gerald Khonje said their trainings will impart both soft and hard skills, ranging from contract management, procurement of materials to actual construction, to the local artisans to ensure they construct buildings that can stand the test of time.
He said their capacity building will hasten the construction and ensure MERP project is completed before it’s deadline.
“As a council we are developing an accelerated infrastructure delivery system so that we eliminate bottlenecks and challenges that are encountered in delivery of infrastructure in the country,” he stressed.
He said they will ensure that quality construction materials are available in trading centres where constructions are taking place to ensure easy accessibility for them.
President Dr Lazarus Chakwera launched MERP project in February this year.
The project apart from constructing 10900 classrooms will also construct 1000 washrooms in primary schools across 34 education districts in the country.
Funded by Malawi government, World Bank and Global Partnership for Education (GPE) the project was supposed to be completed by June 2025.
However with the collaboration between Ministry of Education and NCIC, the project will be accelerated and will be completed by December this year.
