By Richard Chirombo:

From 2007, when people from Chalika, Elton, Zulu Chabvula, Kawaja, Mbauwo and other villages saw Kaswiti Primary School being opened in their area, dilapidated classrooms were a pervasive presence.

However, for 319 learners that regard the school, which is in Ekwendeni, Mzimba District, as the home of academic excellence, it was not the dilapidated classroom blocks that aroused trepidation in them; it was, in fact, the onset of rains.

“We always feared for the worst during the rainy season. There was this lingering fear that, maybe, a block would fall on us,” said Simao, one of the learners.

Now head teacher Joyce Mpata, Parents Teacher Association (PTA) members, traditional leaders and learners themselves are elated after Alliance One Tobacco Malawi started constructing a two-classroom block that has since been handed over to local communities.

On a hot morning on Tuesday, February 11 2025, learners could be seen walking in and out of the classrooms, apparently happy that they had found the long sought after shelter.

“Before Alliance One Tobacco Company constructed the two-classroom block, some learners used to learn in a grass-thatched class. To make matters worse, classes were being disrupted during the rainy season,” Mpata explained.

Following the construction of the school block, stakeholders hope that Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education (PSLCE) examinations candidates will be passing with flying colours.

“In 2024, all 17 PSLCE candidates passed, with 10 being selected to community day secondary schools,” the head teacher, who now wants to see more candidates being selected to national secondary schools, pointed out.

Another school where teachers, learners, PTA members, traditional leaders, among others, are smiling from ear to ear due to the intervention of the tobacco-buying firm is Changoma.

There, a two-classroom block that had seen the best and worst days was adopted and renovated.

From 1995, when the Mzimba District-based school was opened, learners—especially those in standard 3 and 4—were used to reporting for classes in the afternoon because of shortage of classroom blocks.

According to head teacher Lusungu Kachali Nsele, the problem of classroom shortage was fuelled by the fact that some classes were not in good shape.

“We, therefore, felt happy when Alliance One Tobacco Company officials told us that they would renovate the block. Before the renovation exercise, classroom floors had no concrete. As such, learners’ clothes and uniforms were getting dirty, which was forcing parents and guardians to be spending a lot of money on soap everyday.

“This is now a thing of the past, especially for learners who will be using the renovated school block,” Kachali Nsele said.