By Lauryn M’banga

First Lady Monica Chakwera has said the net enrolment of girls in secondary schools is very low at 17 percent, a development she described as detrimental to the country’s development.

She was speaking at University of Malawi (Unima) in Zomba when she presided over the opening ceremony of the 2024 National Girl’s Empowerment Retreat organised by her organisation, Shaping Our Future Foundation (SOFF).

Madame Chakwera said the problem is fueled by factors such as early pregnancies, high school dropout and traditional norms.

“I would like to emphasize on teenage pregnancy as a huge setback for our girls to attain higher education, coupled by school dropout rate which is standing at 10.8% especially in rural areas,” she said.

The First Lady called on various stakeholders to come up with divers interventions to address the root causes contributing to the challenges to make a positive impact to the attainment of the Malawi Vision 2063 agenda.

Executive Director for Girls Education Trust, Dr. Limbikani Kamlongera concurred with the First Lady by calling for collective efforts in curbing the challenges.

The Shaping Our Future Foundation (SOFF), an organisation has provided tertiary scholarships to 25 secondary school students since 2022.