Minister for more investment in higher education

Minister of Education, Science and Technology Bright Msaka says Malawi should invest in quality higher education if it is to have successful citizens who can contribute meaningfully to the sustainable development of the country.

The minister said this yesterday in Mangochi when he opened a three-day-long First National Quality Assurance Conference organised by National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) for local and international experts to build their capacity in quality assurance in higher education institutions.

Msaka reiterated the need for the country to take quality higher education as a means to build a successful and globally competitive Malawi.

“There is a need to consider quality higher education as a vehicle by which this nation will be transported towards the attainment of our national aspirations,” he said.

Msaka said the success of any nation depends on the success of its citizens, starting from kindergarten, primary school, up to tertiary level.

He, however, said for the country to achieve this, there is need for total commitment and seriousness by institutions that offer education to come up with quality education that meets contemporary needs of learners, noting this enables learners to stand tall among their counterparts in the intellectual global world.

“If you lower a country’s quality education, its engineers will build poor infrastructure, its judiciary will preside over injustice, its doctors will not cure simple diseases, its economists will collapse the economy, its civil service will provide poor public services, its accountants will preside over something akin to Cashgate and its teachers will ensure that all students become progressively worse,” Msaka said.

In his remarks, NCHE board chairperson Stanley Chakhumbira Khaila said the conference will create a platform for experts and members from the institutions of higher learning to discuss important points of how they can improve quality education in the country.

The conference, which is being held under the theme Improving Education Standards in Higher Education Through Assurance Management Systems, will close on August 10. n