Typical Malawian Primary School

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Profile for Naliomba Primary School

Naliomba Primary School, P.O. Box 11, Lifidzi, Salima, Malawi.
 

Naliomba Primary School is 19 km away from Salima District Assembly. The school was established at the request from local chiefs in 1973. Naliomba Primary School's head teacher is Mr Scariot Msalanyama and the nominated link co-ordinator is Mr Daphren B Mwazalamba.

The school management comprises of the staff, school committee, PTA (Parents Teachers Association) and overseen by the District Education Manager. The school is controlled by government despite being managed by the local community and the Catholic Church.

Naliomba has 1017 pupils in total, who are in classes 1-8. The number of pupils in the classes are as follows:

Class 1                   158 boys:  260 girls

Class 2                   062 boys:  144 girls

Class 3                   042 boys:  072 girls

Class 4                   065 boys:  054 girls

Class 5                   038 boys:  030 girls

Class 6                   025 boys:   018 girls

Class 7                   015 boys:   011 girls

Class 8                   013 boys:   010 girls

The age range of the school is 6-17, because some children start going to school late or repeat classes if they fail the end of year tests. Primary education in Malawi is free but not compulsory; the school drop out rate is high as you can see from the data form, enrolment declines sharply as we go into the senior classes, especially for girls. There are several reasons that contribute to this such as the long distances children have to walk to school, overcrowding in classes and the high pupil-teacher ratio.

The school hopes to improve teaching and learning conditions for the children.

Naliomba School serves a distance of about 4 km in radius.

Like any other school in Malawi, Naliomba teaches subjects like English, Maths, Religious Education, and General Studies. In classes 4 and above pupils begin to learn life skill (this mostly concerns HIV/ AIDS), Agriculture, Science, Home Economics, Creative arts.

Above (left to right): Mr Wilson Katumbu; Esmy Mkubwi; Daphren Mwazalamba, Scariot B Msalanyama (head teacher); Montfort Kameza; Rebecca C. Gremu

As a school, we want to be involved in the link so that we can learn from our friends in the UK. The link will greatly assist children to work hard so that they can be like their follow students in the UK. Teachers will also be able to enhance their professional skills through dialogue and interaction with fellow teachers in the UK.