Minister of General Education, David Mabumba has commended DAPP Zambia for taking up the challenge of providing education to the nation through the training of teachers specifically for rural areas.

Mr Mabumba said this in a speech read on his behalf by Central Province Education Standards Officer, Kelly Mwanza during the 3^rd Graduation Ceremony of the DAPP Mkushi College of Education where 34 teachers graduated with a Teacher’s Diploma in Primary School Teaching.

“This graduation gives hope to children in rural areas were the pupil-teacher ratio stands at 48:1. The shortage of qualified teachers and the failure to train and retrain a sufficient number of academically qualified candidates for teaching positions in rural schools undermines the quality of education. Therefore, DAPP Mkushi College of Education should be commended for training teachers who are ready to work and live in the rural areas,” he said.

Meanwhile, DAPP Mkushi College of Education Principal, Mr. Kennedy Ngandu said the focus of the College is to train “Another Kind of a Teacher” who are ready to reside in rural areas and to provide a better education to the children and at the same time contribute to community development.