Technical colleges told to improve on standards

Trade Test, a vocational training examinations body in Malawi, on Friday challenged technical colleges in the country to improve service delivery so that they produce graduates who can contribute to national development.

Trade test human resources officer Hellen Chifunda said this when she presided over a graduation ceremony of 33 students who have completed a three-year Grade One General Fitting and Discipleship course at ECOM Vocational Institute (EVTI) in Chilomoni Township in Blantyre.

She singled out EVTI as a top institution offering quality training and achieving high pass rates.

“EVTI is one of our star performers in Trade Test examinations. Every year, they achieve above 90 percent pass rate. We want other institutions to emulate this so we can have a uniform team of graduates on the market,” she said.

Chifunda also tipped the graduates to always think entrepreneurship rather than waiting to be employed, saying Malawi needs more entrepreneurs to create jobs for others to cut on unemployment.

EVTI principal Benson Mongiwa attributed their success to a good learning environment and hard-working lecturers.

“We produce well-groomed products and they all excel either as employees or entrepreneurs. Currently, over 200 graduates are employed in different sectors and many others have established private enterprises,” he said.

However, EVTI board member Godfrey Chinema observed that many students are not completing their studies due to poverty. He said they started with 56 students, but only 33 graduated because they could not afford tuition fees.

Apart from the three-year general fitting and discipleship course, the institution also offers painting and decoration.n