Authorities in Zomba district say embracing the ‘Go back to school campaign’ would go along away in curbing cases of child marriages in the country.

The remarks were made during the launch of Go back to school campaign in the area of Traditional Authority Nkagula in Zomba district.

Speaking to YFM, Zomba District Youth Officer, Emmaculate Chilongo stressed the need to keep children in school saying this will not only curb cases of child marriages but also will narrow down illiteracy levels in the district.

“This is a good initiative because it is an idea from the TA which is not a thing most of the times, most of the times it is the education minister or non-governmental organisations who start these initiatives,” she said.

“I think this will help in curbing cases of child marriages in this area since the thing comes from within. It is different when it comes from somebody else outside the area.”

In his remarks, Traditional Authority Nkagula who is the initiator of the campaign, urged parents and guardians to take their rightful role by sending children to school in order to mold them into reliable citizens.

“For us to come up with this campaign, it is because a lot of youth in this area are not educated,” he said.

“For example, we have a school here at Sakata where youth learn tailoring, carpentry and welding but a lot of youth who are there, are from other areas not here, because to be qualified for this school, you need to have JCE or MSCE certificate and this shows that our youth here, didn’t go to school,” Nkagula added.

During the launch, Traditional Authority Nkagula received a certificate from Zomba District Council as an ambassador of education in the area.

Chilongo said the certificate is a sign to other chiefs that they can also do it.