By Alice Ndunya

Machinga, May 20, Mana: District Education Office in Machinga says all is set for this year’s Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education(PSLCE) examinations, with high expectations that the district will perform exceptionally well in the national examination, with a lot of learners selected into national secondary schools.

Chef Education Officer for Machinga District Council, Douglas Namikungulu told Malawi News Agency (Mana) Tuesday that the district had received candidates identy cards (IDs) for the PSLCE examinations candidates contrary to speculations that the Malawi National Examination Board (MANEB) was not ready to administer this year's examination due to identity cards issue.

Machinga has about 88 cluster centres with 2,864 males and 3,746 females registered for the examinations, out of which 10 males and 21 females are candidates with special needs.

“ We received the students ID’s on May 19 and all of them have been sent to the intended destinations where they have been distributed,” Namikungulu added.

He added that examination papers, security teams, and other necessary items arrived in examination centres in good time..

“ We have been improving in terms of pass rate, and with that in mind, we are eager to register progress this year. Let me appeal to parents and guardians to encourage their children to continue working hard in their education to excel in examinations,” he added.

A learner with special needs from St Therese Primary School, Jazira Hassan expressed said was ready to sit for the examinations with determination to pass..

“ My ambition is to become a medical doctor and for this reason, I work hard in class to fulfil my dream,” said the gifted learner.

A standard 8 teacher at St. Theresa Primary School, Liwonde Township, Linly Gama, said she prepared her learners very well ahead of the examination to remove fear apart from telling them MANEB rules and regulations to avoid disqualifications.

“ We revised all that was covered in the syllabus with the students and we provided counselling to prepare the candidates very well,” she added..

Public Relations Officer for Machinga Police, Sergeant Western Kansire said police officers were ready to execute their duty with the highest level of professionalism.

“Following a briefing that we recently had at Machinga Police Station, I can confirm that teams are ready to provide security efficiently to ensure examinations are written without security-associated challenges,” he added.

MANEB will administer this year's PSLCE examinations from May 21 to 23.