By SYLVESTER MWALE –

KANYAMA residents have called on the Ministry of Education to shut down a welfare education centre in the township which is enrolling children into boarding school without dormitories.
Children at Ohms Welfare Education Centre are said to have been subjected to inhuman conditions at the school in Lusaka which does not meet minimum standards.
Ohms Welfare Education Centre is enrolling children as young as seven years and managers at the institution are using shed classes as dormitories during the night.
The school is a shack of apartments attached to a bar near Mutandabanthu Market with no sign of minimum standards for childcare facilities.
School secretary Taonga Ngoma said the school was registered with the Ministry of Education although the ministry says it is not sure whether the centre has a licence to operate.
One of the residents who spoke on condition of anonymity said she had been forced to withdraw her child because of the poor state of boarding and class facilities.
“This is probably a jail for those children that are trouble makers at home,” said one of the residents. “If you have a child who has troubled you at home then you can just bring him or her here.”
The minimum standards for childcare facilities require that drinking water is supplied in a safe and sanitary manner.
The standard also requires that rubbish should be stored in closed containers that prevent access by children, insects, rodents and other animals.
But a check at the centre revealed that none of the above exists at Ohms Welfare Education Centre as garbage has piled up just five metres from the kitchen.
The pupils are asked to pay between K240 to K300 per term and the shack apartments are used as classes during the day and dormitories at night.
Ministry of Education spokesperson Hilary Chipango said the ministry was not aware whether the centre was registered but warned that officials would visit the place.
“We are aware that there are some schools that have fallen far short of the minimum standards,” Mr Chipango said in an interview.
“But I would like to take this opportunity to warn the owners that we will not sit idle. We have the teaching council in place which will regulate the operations of teachers and schools.”
Mr Chipango said it was standard practice that any school putting up a boarding facility should ask the Government to inspect the facility before going ahead.
“It is a normal practice for the inspectors to see the boarding facilities and if the standards are not met, then you can’t go ahead and start enrolling pupils into boarding,” he said.