‘Harmonise assessment methods in technical colleges’
Minister of Labour Ken Kandodo has called for harmonisation in assessing and examining students in all the country’s technical colleges to develop skilled labour force.
The minister said this on Friday in Lilongwe during the closing of a capacity building workshop for Technical, Entrepreneurial and Vocational Education Training Authority (Teveta) assessors and examiners.
“Examinations and assessment given to students should be uniform regardless of where the students are learning, be it in community colleges, skills development centres and national technical colleges,” said Kandodo.
The minister said government has attached great interest in skills development at a time the country is exploring ways to create one million jobs.
Kandodo said if the Tevet system is not vibrant, all developmental interventions which government is initiating cannot be realised.
On his part, Teveta executive director Wilson Makulumiza Nkhoma said one of the thematic areas of Tevet is to provide quality and relevance.
“It is my hope that this training has provided necessary skills that will enable examiners to produce or formulate credible examinations, which will effectively assess competencies needed by industries,” he said.
Nkhoma said with the expansion of Tevet institutions, there is to ensure that examiners are up-to-date in as far as examination formulation is concerned to ensure uniformity of assessment and examination delivery.
At the workshop, 27 assessors and examiners from Central and Northern regions Tevet institutions were trained.
Malawi National Examinations Board provided expertise to Tevet examiners and assessors in examination development.
The workshop was organised with financial support from European Union through Skills for Technical Education Programme.