Nche accredits universities, Chancellor Colleges missing
By Yohane Symon:
Chancellor College (Chanco) is conspicuously missing from the list of 21 institutions of higher learning which National Council for Higher Education (Nche) has accredited.
Nche presented accreditation certificates to the 21 universities and colleges—eight of which are from the public sector— during a ceremony which took place at Sunbird Nkopola in Mangochi District Tuesday.
However, Nche Council Chairperson, Bruce Munthali, said Chanco presented a self-assessment report to Nche for consideration before the regulator conducts its own assessment of the college.
Munthali said he was optimistic that Chanco would be among the institutions that would soon be awarded accreditation certificates.
“At the moment, we can say that Chancellor College is yet to be awarded the accreditation certificate. However, our team will visit the college in October to assess some of their programmes and infrastructures to see if they meet the required minimum operating standards,” he said.
Nche presented the accreditation certificates to institutions such as The Polytechnic, College of Medicine, Kamuzu College of Nursing, Malawi College of Accountancy, Malawi University of Science and Technology, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Mzuzu University.
Nche also awarded accreditation certificates to DMI-St John Baptist University, Exploits University, Malawi Assemblies of God University, African Bible College, Pentecostal Life University, Daeyang University, Malawi Adventist University, University of Livingstonia, Millennium University and University of Lilongwe.
In his remarks, Education, Science and Technology Minister, Andrew Susuwere Banda, urged the accredited universities to stop taking pride in students that fail examinations in their colleges.
Susuwere Banda said it was unfortunate that some universities celebrate when more students fail examinations, unlike when they pass.
“You need to support the learners because your job is to make students pass examinations and not fail. If a lot of children are failing, it means we have professors and doctors who do not know their job; so, in a bigger part, this is killing Malawi as a country,” Susuwere Banda said.
He also said the government was concerned that less people were accessing higher education in Malawi.
“We need to start finding ways of promoting access to tertiary education. We are among the countries with low access to tertiary education, a development which is worrisome. On our part, as the government, we will continue providing infrastructures for public universities to improve quality and access to tertiary education,” he said.
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