Kafue District Education Board Secretary, Levy Matongo says over 2,000 girls are currently benefiting from the Keep Girls in School (KGS) initiative in the district.

In an interview with ZANIS, Mr Matongo stated that his office has received about 4,700 requests from parents seeking their daughters’ inclusion in the programme.

He said so far, 2,011 girls out of the 4,700 applications have been placed on the programme.

Mr Matongo mentioned that the verification of the other applications was still ongoing to ensure that the programme benefits appropriate candidates.

“We received a total of 4,700 applications, and out of these, 2,011 girls have been placed under the programme.  We are still verifying the remaining requests to ensure that the right candidates are picked,” he said.

Mr Matongo noted overwhelming response from parents across the district who were eager to enroll their children in the programme.

“The programme is doing extremely well. We have received overwhelming requests from parents wanting their children to be included,” he said.

However, Mr Matongo emphasized that despite the programme’s popularity, not all applicants qualify for placement.

He explained that specific criteria must be met for girls to be eligible.

“We prioritise placing vulnerable girls, particularly those whose families are beneficiaries of programmes such as the Social Cash Transfer under Community Development and Social Services,” he explained.