In the heart of Blantyre, lies Mbayani Primary School, an institution of learning with an interesting figure of over 10,000 learners, the largest enrollment in all primary schools in Malawi.
Aside from education and social interactions being offered here, a crisis is unfolding that strikes at the very heart of Malawi’s development aspirations.
The learners at this education facility are being attacked, classes disturbed and the school premises invaded by street connect children.
The evidently live in fear.
As Malawi strives toward its MW2063 vision of transforming into a “wealthy and self-reliant industrialized ‘upper middle-income country'”, the safety and development of its children remain fundamental.
Yet, at Mbayani Primary School, the very children who are supposed to drive this future are learning in fear.
The question is, how can Malawi build its future when its youngest citizens face daily threats to their education and safety?
The testimony from those directly affected paints a disturbing picture of the learning environment at Mbayani Primary School.
As John and Mary (not real names), standard 7 learners, explain, the situation is dire.
John explains, ““One time, as the women who cook porridge were serving it, the street connected kids just came and grabbed a bucket of porridge and ran away with it. And sometimes they rob us of money. And as for me, they once robbed me of 700 Kwacha while threatening to stab me with a sharp screwdriver.”
Concurring with John is Mary who says, “These street connected children trouble us to give them money. If we don’t give them, they threaten to stab us.”
And Charity Saka a standard 7 teacher attests to the severity of the matter. According to Saka, the street connected children evade the school to receive porridge.
“Yes, it’s true, these street connected children trouble us greatly. These children come here wanting to eat the porridge. And if they are denied that porridge, they start causing trouble. They commit various acts of bullying against the students, such as snatching their bags, being splashed with urine, all these things happen here.” She said.
These street connected kids are not only targeting the schoolchildren. They are also victimizing women who volunteer to prepare porridge at the school, according to Mayi Kamanga one of the volunteers.
“These street connected kids are a problem. Sometimes, they come and throw stones in the classrooms. And when students come out for break, they snatch their books, money, and food. They also trouble us, the ones who cook the porridge. When we deny them, they threaten us that we will meet them on the way home.” She explained.
This situation has gotten parents worried. A mother of six, Supe Namulewa whose three children learn at this school voice-out her concerns.
“And I can confirm this issue. The street connected children are a problem at this school. Sometimes they even throw stones into the classroom while a teacher is teaching. These things disturb the pupils from learning because when they start throwing those stones, the learners run away.” She said.
This issue has also gotten the attention of traditional leaders like Group Village Head Mbayani and Lyson Bizeki Nsona Chairperson for Mbayani Primary School- Parents Teachers Association (PTA).
In his remarks Group Village Head Mbayani says, “We received these reports. The complaints from teachers and also from parents are that their school children are being robbed of their belongings, and the ones doing the robbing are street connected kids. And sometimes they even kidnap the learners.”
Concurring with the Chieg Nsona says, “Those street connected children often come to receive porridge by force at the school, and they also bully the pupils during the time when these learners are going to the toilet to relieve themselves.”
The police too say they have received such reports.
However, there is a twist to this story. Superintendent Moffat Chimenya Officer-In-Charge for Kabula Police Unit, says the street connected children are in fact a product of parental negligence.
According to Chimenya the children in question do not dwell on the streets.
“Indeed we received these report that some street connected kids were victimizing learners. But after full investigation it was not street connected children but were children who have parents,” he clarified.
Weighing in on the matter is Solomoni Chomba, a human behavior expert. According to Chomba, the behaviors being displayed by the suspected street connected children signals total lack of parental care for the young-ones causing a menace to their fellows.
“That one has some contribution to the parenting style. These children are growing without parental responsibility. Poor parenting style is one of the major contributors to this.” He said.
And Michael Kayiyatsa a human rights advocate, while calling for a quick intervention- describes the situation as unfortunate.
“This is very unfortunate. We are talking about children who are being neglected.” He weighed in.
Now if left unchecked what could be the possible implications of the situation to the school goers?
Officer-In Charge Chimenya has this to say, “there is an impact because this can give fear to the school children thinking that they will be victimized. That is why we have encouraged the learners to report once victimized.”
Not only does it have a negative impact on the psychology of the learners but on the country’s development agendas too, according to Chomba and Kayiyatsa.
“those that are being terrorized they will grow with a sense of anxiety and at the end of the day they may lose interest in school. And those that are terrorizing they will grow with the wrong behavior and they will be terrorizing the nation,” expressed Chomba.
Adding to that thought Kayiyatsa said, “There is no way Malawi can achieve the national development agenda without addressing this problem.”
It is implications such as these that have made John (not real name) to call upon the authorities to beef up security at the school.
“A problem like this should be solved. We have security guards at this school but they are also afraid. If they find these kids, they don’t chase them away for fear that they will assault them. So we, as learners, are requesting that security be increased at this school.” He said.
And what is the school management doing to protect its learners?
According to Saka a standard 7-teacher, school authorities have, among others, devised deliberate policies aimed at preventing loitering around of learners during classes.
“To get inside here, they take advantage of the time when we are changing shifts. However, we try to tell our students to stay in the classrooms. So if we find someone outside, we know it is a street connected child and our security guards grab them and sent them out of the premises.” She explained.
However, Saka underscore the presence of the police at the education facility as effective.
“The police do come, and when these street connected children see the police, they run away.” She explained.
In response to these threats, the community too has implemented several security measures according to Group Village Head Mbayani and Nsona the PTA chairperson for the school.
The Chief says, “There are measures that we have put in place, our neighborhood watch and PTA members go to the school to ensure that the premises are secure. We also asked the police to help us tighten security at the school.”
And Nsona joins saying, “We, as the committee, shared out the days we would keep watch at the school. Some go on Wednesdays, others on Thursdays, and others on Fridays. However, often these street connected children have weapons like knives. This makes it difficult to deal with this problem.”
This crisis at Mbayani Primary comes at a critical juncture in Malawi’s development journey.
The country has committed to the Malawi 2063 vision (MW2063), which aims to transform Malawi into a “wealthy and self-reliant industrialized ‘upper middle-income country’ by the year 2063”.
For this development dream to be achieve it requires everyone to be onboard while ensuring proper children development, for they are the future of the nation.
With this, Chomba is calling for rehabilitation of the children terrorizing learners at Mbayani Primary School to ensure that that they grow into responsible citizens.
“What these children need is rehabilitation.” He suggested.
Indeed, the success of MW2063 fundamentally depends on investing in human capital development, starting with the protection and education of today’s children. When children cannot learn safely, the nation’s development trajectory is compromised.
With this, Pauline Kaude Spokesperson for the Ministry of Social Welfare says the government is commitment to youth development through various initiatives.
According to Kaude government has strengthened child care and protection through the establishment of community based child care centers.
And to end parental neglect, Kaude notes authorities are ensuring the enforcement of Child Care, Protection and Justice Act.
“The government has strengthened childcare centers and protection through establishment of community based childcare centers. And also through the construction of 150 modern community based centers.
The crisis at Mbayani Primary School represents a small-scale-version of the broader challenge facing Malawi’s development ambitions.
The MW2063 vision of an “upper middle-income country” cannot be achieved unless all children are safe to learn and develop their potential.
The street-connected children terrorizing learners are not merely perpetrators – they are also victims of circumstances beyond their control, a product what stakeholders term “parental negligence”.
The solution therefore requires recognizing both the immediate security needs and the underlying social issues driving children to the streets.