IT’S now time for pupils at Chikoma Community School in Lumezi district to abandon the dusty floor and discard logs they sat on while learning.
This is after the school received 10, 840 desks, procured using the 2025 Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
According to Lumezi Town Council, this is the first time that the pupils have sat on a desk.
Lumezi Town Council assistant public relations officer Irvin Muyumbwa said this is because Chikoma Community School is located in the furthest rural community of Kamimba Ward.
The delivery of the first desks at the school has been seen as a transformative intervention that has brought joy and hope to pupils and community members under Chikomeni chiefdom.
The delivery of the desks at the school marks a significant turnaround in the children’s educational journey as the unavailability of these essential tools hindered pupils’ ability to focus and learn effectively.
Peter Nyirenda, a volunteer head teacher at the school is optimistic that with the delivery of the desks, the school is now poised for significant development.
“The intervention is a testament of government’s commitment to improve education, including those in the remotest areas of Lumezi district.
“With the delivery of these desks under CDF, at least now we are much better,” he said.
Meanwhile, Esnele Banda, a community member said children in the area suffered from persistent cough and flu emanating from the learning environment, where they would sit on bare ground during lesson due to the lack of desks over the years.
“We thank government for delivering the desks because our children will no longer be coming back home dirty. This is the first time our children are seeing a desk,” Banda said.
According to other sources, previously, parents used to cut down trees in order to use logs as makeshift desks for the children.
“We used to cut down trees and use the logs as desks for our children. This is the first time ever that we are receiving desks from government. We are very happy and thankful to government for this intervention,” John Nyirongo said.
Meanwhile, Lumezi Town Council Chairperson, Oliver Mwale said that the district previously had a lot of schools where pupils were sitting on the floor.
He said that following the increase in CDF allocation, close to 11,000 desks have been procured and delivered to more than 110 schools in Lumezi.
“The Council will this year procure and deliver 3,000 desks to various schools in the district using the Constituency Development Fund CDF,” Mwale said.
He further said the delivery of desks has motivated learners whose performance is expected to improved as the pupils can comfortably sit during lessons and write properly.
Mwale added that the Local Authority had set a target of 18,000 desks earmarked for delivery in schools within 5 years stating that progress has so far been made.
He said more than 21,680 pupils have so far been lifted from sitting on the floor to a desk during lessons.
“We will make sure that the remaining desks out of our target are all procured and taken to the schools. As you are aware, in 2026, we have K40 million CDF allocation which will make us comfortable to procure more desks in Lumezi” Mwale said.
He added that last year, Lumezi Town Council procured and delivered 1,580 double sitter desks to various schools in the district as part of efforts to mitigate the shortage of desks and alleviate challenges of learners sitting on the floor during lessons.
By Sanfrossa Mberi
Kalemba April 13, 2026
