Madonna discontinues Malawi school plans

New York: She had pledged to build a school in Malawi after adopting two children from the poverty stricken African nation but Madonna has shelved plans to set up the much hyped all-girls academy in the country.

The 52-year-old singer had promised to build the `Raising Malawi Academy for Girls` while adopting her now five-year-old son David in 2006 but she has discontinued the project, reported the New York Times online. The pop diva who also adopted six-year-old Mercy from the country in 2009, admits being frustrated at the development because of the lack of education in the country. "There is a real education crisis in Malawi, 67 per cent of girls don`t go to secondary school. Our team is going to work hard to address this in every way we can," said Madonna. The USD 3.8 million that the pop diva put into the project through her charitable foundation `Raising Malawi` has not yielded any result yet. Michael Berg, who co-founded the charity with Madonna wrote in an email to the school fund contributors about the unfinished plan. "A thoughtful decision has been made to discontinue plans for the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls, as it was originally conceived," said Berg. PTI