LSPCA
awards top students in the first ever Humane Education Exams
On 29 November, 2013 LSPCA
awarded students who did extremely well in the Humane Education Exams that took
place early this month.
Nine schools in
Lilongwe sat for the Humane Education exams which were aimed at testing the
children’s understanding of animal welfare issues before initiating them into
the Animal Kindness Clubs.
The award presentation
was held at Nkomachi Primary School in area 25, which was the only school that produced
a student who scored as high as 100 per cent.
According to Programs
Director for LSPCA Dr. Richard Ssuna the Humane Education classes as well as
the Animal Kindness Clubs are
aimed at promoting compassion towards animals in pupils and instill a sense of
responsibility to the well-being of the animals under their care.
“These classes narrow
the very wide knowledge gulf between the correct handling and basic care of
animals and the norms in our society. Also we dispel the several traditional
myths and beliefs that impact on perceptions held in certain communities about
animals,” said Dr. Ssuna.
He further said that
the program aims at reaching out to school going children and orient their
thinking to cause an attitude change in both the individuals and the society
they live in.
In addition to the
already existing clubs, LSPCA now has 20 Animal Kindness Clubs under their
belt. Through the Humane Education Programme LSPCA has reached over 6,000
pupils and 100 trainers and further seeks to roll out a Programme to the rest
of the 54 public primary schools in Lilongwe.
Upon receiving his
award Gift Kamwendo, the only pupil who managed to get all the questions
correct, said that through the humane education classes he has learned a lot
about animal welfare and protection.
“I wish all schools in
the country had humane education classes, I look forward to advancing into the
animal kindness clubs so that I can learn a lot more and broaden my understanding
about animal welfare,” said Gift.
Out 1017 students that
sat for the exam 511 have passed.
The exams were
conducted in nine public primary schools in Lilongwe namely Mkomachi, Kaliyeka,
Shire urban, Mvama, Mvunguti, Mlodza, Msambeta, Msambachikho and Chisamba.
However, despite Nkomachi
having the best student, it was Chisamba LEA that walked away with the title of
best school after displaying a pass rate of 80 per cent.
Speaking during the
award presentation, patron for Chisamba Stophan Chambiya, said that Chisamba’s
performance shows just how dedicated teacher are with animal welfare programe.
“We will continue to
work with LSPCA and are more than ready to start the animal kindness clubs as
soon as possible,” said Chambiya.
Other schools that did
very well in the exams are Shire Urban and Kaliyeka Primary Schools who came
second and third respectively.
The Animal Kindness Clubs
are kindly supported by the National Council of SPCAs in South Africa.
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