Standard Bank Plc, through its flagship annual event, the Standard Bank Be More Race, has donated educational materials worth MK7.4 Million to Chimutu and Chigoneka Community Day Secondary Schools in Lilongwe.
Speaking during the handover ceremony at Chigoneka CDSS, Standard Bank’s Chief Risk Officer, Kondwani Mlilima said the investment demonstrates the Bank’s commitment towards alleviating challenges that affect the delivery of education in the country.
“Through our race, Standard Bank partnered with citizens for a greater cause. The Be More Race is a wellness and health event that rallies citizens and promotes a spirit of unity and motivation. With the funds raised during this year’s race we can uplift the education standards in the country through provision of teaching and learning materials. “Said Mlilima.
“We recognize that education is the backbone of Malawi’s social-economic development that is why we assist this sector through a donation to Chimutu and Chigoneka Community Day Secondary Schools here in Lilongwe,” he said.
This year as the theme was “Road to recovery” the Bank hopes to re-energize the education sector following the massive impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on education. He said that the investment is a fulfilment of the Bank’s core purpose which is: Malawi is our home, we drive her growth.
On his part, Joseph Nkhata Education Division Manager at Central West Education District highlighted shortage of teaching and learning materials as a big gap.
“In the Ministry of Education mainly secondary school subsector, we have a number of gaps in terms of infrastructure and materials. Currently we have a big shortfall of textbooks in the areas of language and humanities,” said Nkhata.
Nkhata recognized efforts by Standard Bank saying the donation compliments government’s efforts toward achieving one to one text book ratio.
“We are happy to see Standard Bank enhancing our efforts to mitigate the challenges through the donation. At the moment the ratio is one book to four students, however with this gesture we are closing the gap,” said Nkhata.
Acknowledging the impact of community secondary schools, Chimutu Head Teacher, Shadreck Chakwawa said 80 percent of the country’s education is delivered in these institutions.
“Community secondary schools are contributing positively to the country’s human resources. Therefore, we need organizations like Standard Bank to continue investing in them to have a robust ecosystem,” said Chakwawa.
Chakwawa said the donation to his school is timely as the school is facing a lot of challenges in the delivery of quality education.
“Like many other schools, Chimutu is facing huge shortage of resources. We therefore, thank Standard Bank for stepping in, the donation will benefit the school a lot and improve learning and teaching,” he said.
Head teacher for Chigoneka CDSS, Bernadette Chitwere echoed Chakwawa’s sentiments saying the donation will improve skills and competence.
“The partnership with Standard Bank is very effective such that today’s donation will go a long way. This intervention will help students to consolidate and practice fully what they learn in their respective classes,” added Chitwere.
Over the years, the race has developed a track record as a socially responsible corporate entity. Since 2017, Standard Bank through Be More Race has supported 3 schools with learning materials. Though this donation the flagship event has now supported 5 Government schools. The investment in these schools fulfils the Bank’s pledge to invest back into communities and continue to be a reliable partner for development.
