‘Kamuzu inspired Skyway vision’
What was meant to be a mere crop inspection tour by the first president of the country Ngwazi Hastings Kamuzu Banda in Rumphi in the early 1990s turned to be a turning point in the life of Patrick Payikani Mkandawire.
Mkandawire, who today is the managing director of the Skyway Holdings conglomerate with subsidiaries such as Sky Way University, Sky Way Girls Secondary School and Skyway Private Schools, says the speech that Kamuzu delivered that day made him to approach life differently.
“It was in 1986 when I first met Kamuzu when he visited my area. I decided to go and see him in person because all along I had just been listening to his speeches on the radio. Seeing him in flesh wearing his favourite coat, a hat, sunglasses and walking stick in his hand made me realise that he was no ordinary man,” says Mkandawire.
He says that Kamuzu made a moving speech where he mentioned three things that he wanted for his people: A good house that does not leak when it is raining, good clothes and enough food for any family.
Mkandawire adds: “Kamuzu also talked about the importance of education and that is what inspired me to work hard in education to the extent that I was selected to go to Bunda College.
“Anytime Kamuzu had a rally in Lilongwe I made sure I attended because whatever he said carried weight.”
After graduating from Bunda in the early 1990s, Mkandawire mobilised resources and set up a college known as Sky Way Business College in Lilongwe which enrolled over 100 students in the first year.
In 2004, following two years of dedication and hard work, he opened a branch in Blantyre and in 2005, another branch was opened in Mzuzu.
“We continued to work hard and whenever we were designing school structures we made sure that they are strong and with very good designs just more or less what Kamuzu wanted. Kamuzu had standards and that is what inspired me about the former president,” says Mkandawire who changed the name of Skyway Business College to Skyway Institute of Management and Research in 2009.
On 17 July 2012, government through the Ministry of Education accredited Skyway as an institution of higher learning, paving the way for another change of name to Skyway University on August 10 2013.
“We now offer degrees and diplomas and I am a very contented man because I have helped to educate millions of people who are contributing to the development of the country through different sectors,” he says.
Mkandawire says through proper management, Skyway has withstood the test of time and survived turbulence which saw over 20 private colleges closing shop.
“Through hard work and dedication, we have now grown to the extent that we have employed Professor Felix Salaniponi as Vice-Chancellor and on top of that, we also have an education manager who oversees the day-to-day running of the other schools.
“My plea to Malawians is to come to Skyway and be educated by us because we have dedicated and well qualified employees,” he adds.
Currently, there are over 1 000 students in the university and over 800 students in the other schools spread across the country.
Mkandawire, who is 42-years-old and married with three daughters, says he will always have the vision that Kamuzu Banda has because even up to now all the buildings that he constructed are in shape.
