• The school will be the third girls' school in Ganze subcounty but the first in Bamba.
• Other girls’ schools are Mwangea Girls in Vitengeni and Ganze.
Image: ELIAS YAA
The dream to have a girls’ high school in Bamba, Ganze constituency, has finally been realised.
On Monday, Ganze MP Teddy Mwambire officially opened Bamba Girls Secondary School. It was equipped with 100 lockers and chairs. It is the third girls' school in Ganze but the first in Bamba.
The construction was funded by the NG-CDF office. It had been budgeted for in the 2018-19 financial year but could not be built as NG-CDF funds had been withheld because of court cases over alleged embezzlement by the previous officeholders.
Other girls’ schools in the subcounty are Mwangea in Vitengeni and Ganze High in Ganze.
Mwambire said the area has had several cases of teen pregnancies, hence having more girls’ schools will offer a haven for the teens.
“I plan to add three more girls’ schools in Ganze because it has been proved that single-sex schools perform better than mixed schools. The other schools will be Kauma, Bahero and Kafuloni. Kafuloni will be special in that it will admit girls who got pregnant while in school,” he said.
The lawmaker called on schools not to employ unqualified teachers. He said teachers who have not received proper training will derail the progress of the school.
“Ganze has many trained teachers who have yet to be employed. I have trained over 300 teachers. You will be doing injustice to these girls if you employ a Form 4 leaver to teach them. Let such people come to my office so that we can train them. Employ only those who have TSC numbers."
He warned education officers against endorsing the employment of unqualified teachers.
“If I hear of any school in Ganze that has employed untrained teachers then I know you are here to sabotage the education standards in Ganze."
The school admitted 37 pioneer students.
Mary Mwavita, a parent, said many girls in Bamba were forced to get married after failing to join secondary school.
“Poverty has led to many girls being married off after parents fail to raise fees to take them to distant schools. This school will bridge that gap to make sure girls from around Bamba never miss a chance,” she said
Ganze education officer Rashid Mjimba urged parents to make sure all the girls who are still at home join the school so that there is 100 per cent transition.
Mjimba directed the board of management to ensure the majority of the staff at the school are female.
“This is a girls school and you should make sure you employ teachers from the same gender so that the students can freely express their issues. Male teachers should not be the majority. I also ask the Teachers Service Commission to send a female principal,” he said.