Minister of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare, Mary Navicha made the remarks in Lilongwe when the Chinese community donated millions of Kwachas towards primary education in the country.

 Navicha said as of 2017, the transition rate was very low as only 16 percent of children transitioned from primary to secondary and only 8 percent got to tertiary level. 

The financial contribution will go towards addressing challenges faced by the girl child affected by the 2019 cyclone Idai mainly and to promote education continuity on the part of girls who are more vulnerable to economic shocks.

Navicha said the transition rate is particularly far much lower for the girl child because of her vulnerability lack of psychosocial support to encourage her pursue her studies.

“Girls have an erratic school attendance trend and the majority drop out of school early.

“As for the girl child, lack of basic essentials such as such as school uniform, writing materials and text books, exposes the girl child to various vulnerabilities including gender based violence, sexual abuse and harassment,” said Navicha.