Schools reopen as Malawi eyes recovery after deadly cyclone

BLANTYRE, Malawi

Schools in southern Malawi started reopening on Monday as the country begins to pick up the pieces after the devastation wreaked by Cyclone Freddy.

More than 500,000 people were displaced and over 100,000 homes destroyed since the storm began battering southern Malawi on March 12.

It has claimed more than 510 lives in the country, while hundreds more remain missing.

Among the fatalities were 113 students – 69 boys and 44 girls – and two teachers, both women, said Education Minister Madalitso Kambauwa Wirima.

According to Malawi’s disaster management agency, over 273,000 students were out of school as academic institutions across the affected regions were shuttered.

The decision to reopen schools was taken because “assessment in terms of structural strengths … revealed a level of recovery in some districts,” Wirima told Anadolu.

“Hence the ministry’s recommendation for the immediate resumption of face-to-face lessons,” she added.

At least 390 schools are also being used as shelters for displaced people.

“To ensure the safety of both learners and teachers, the ministry is working with engineering institutions to assess the suitability of classrooms in all disaster-affected areas,” Wirima said.