At a 90-year-old primary school in Kasungu North West, teachers are calling for the rehabilitation of old infrastructure, including teachers’ houses and two classroom blocks that have remained unrehabilitated since they were blown off by Cyclone Chido in 2024.
The school, which has 11 teachers, enrolls over 700 learners, who are currently using only three classroom blocks that survived the cyclone.
In an interview, Jordan Munthali, who heads the school said the learning environment has been compromised due to the damage caused by the cyclone to some classroom blocks, calling for urgent action.
“We are still using the damaged classroom blocks, a situation that exposes learners to scorching weather. When it is raining, we combine learners in the remaining classrooms, resulting in congestion. We reported the matter to the authorities and DoDMA officers came to assess the damage, but we are still waiting. The long wait has adversely affected teaching and learning here,” Munthali said.
Munthali added that the school has only six teachers’ houses, but only two—occupied by him and his deputy—are in good condition, while the rest are in a dilapidated state since they were constructed when the school was established.
He added: “Despite the houses being in a poor state, they are also not enough because four teachers are currently renting outside the school, resulting in absenteeism due to long distances, especially during the rainy season.”
In December 2025, the Member of Parliament for Kasungu North West, Joseph Mseteka, asked the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to instruct Kasungu District Council to release Constituency Development Fund (CDF) resources allocated in the 2025/2026 financial year to rehabilitate schools affected by disasters in the area.
The lawmaker cited Mpasadzi, Chamkango, Chamkusu, Chalusu and Mphongele as primary schools that need rehabilitation, but the Ministry advised him to liaise with the council on the matter.
Responding to the issue, the Director of Planning and Development at Kasungu District Council, George Mtengowadula, acknowledged that a number of schools have been affected by disasters and require rehabilitation.
“It is true that Mpasadzi Primary School needs to be rehabilitated, but for this to be done using the Constituency Development Fund in the 2026/2027 financial year, there is need for the ADC, chiefs, councillors and the MP to meet at constituency level and prioritise the school in their development plan,” Mtengowadula said.
The school was established in 1936 and is located in the catchment area of the Mpasadzi River at Magunje Village in the area of Traditional Authority Chisinga.
By Topson Banda
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