Priscilla Bandawe, a Standard Seven learner at St Pius Primary School in Zomba, sighed with curiosity and accomplishment when she laid her hand on a motor vehicle engine.
She did not mind its greasy exteriors as she pinched the bolts and nuts, bending her back to see up-close how various components work in sync to keep people and goods moving.
“There is no better place to be,” said the 13-year-old. “I dream of becoming a mechanic like a man who fixes cars and motorcycles on the way to my school in Jiya Village.”
The setting was a busy workshop block at Nasawa Technical College along the east bank of Namadzi River on the border between Zomba and Chiradzulu districts.
From Monday to Friday, the college is a hive of activity.
Its workshops buzz with a crowd, clad in blue work suits and hard hats, pacing against time to teach and learn life-changing skills.
But last Friday, the instructors and youthful trainees, draped in garbs of their trades, were outnumbered by children from 12 primary and secondary schools nearby.
The college opened in 1970, with former president Bakili Muluzi as its first principal, threw its doors open for children to experience the wonders of the 14 trades in store for them.
One after another, the resident trainees and instructors spoke of the limitless opportunities beyond the much-coveted university corridors and white-collar jobs.
Clearly, there was no better place for Priscilla, who leapt to the front and listened harder than the rest when the procession stopped in front of a vehicle under repair.
“The mechanic in my village makes a lot of money and I know I can be like him,” she said. “When I went to Limbe Town in Blantyre two years ago, I saw a woman fixing a car.”
For her, the open day was an eye-opener like no other.
“I wish I could come here daily and learn to do what girls here are doing,” she released her pent-up emotion.
While most careers that hinge on science, technology, engineering and mathematics remain male-dominated, Priscilla sees limitless possibilities in fixing the machines that keep humanity and goods moving and working.
As she moved closer to the greasy engines on display, general fitting trainee Anna Justine, 29, told her: “Nothing is impossible with a determined girl; you just have to work hard and stay focused on your desired goal.”
The open-door sessions introduced the young dreamers to the benefits of technical and entrepreneurial skills.
It constituted a rare window for rural boys and girls lacking credible role models and career guidance, said Anna.
“Just a few years ago, I was like these young girls. I didn’t know what to do after completing secondary school and no one told me the possible careers up for grabs. Everyone encouraged us to go to university, ignoring the wonders of hands-on trades taught in technical colleges like ours,” she narrated.
The trainee reckons she is in the right place where she can use her skilled hands to overcome the country’s widespread poverty and youth unemployment.
“I want to employ myself,” she says. “When I finish training, I’ll establish a business where I can make money, share life-changing skills with my peers and create jobs for the youth. I hope this will inspire girls to dream big instead of leaving well-paying trades to boys and men,” she says.
The open day was part of the $100 million (K175 billion) Skills for A Vibrant Economy (Save) project funded by the World Bank. Half of the funding is a loan.
The initiative—underway in nine public universities, seven national technical colleges and 15 community colleges—seeks to expand access to relevant skills required to transform the country into an industrialised, self-reliant, upper-middle-income economy by 2063.
Said principal Yusuf Josaya: “Nasawa Technical College convened learners and adults from nearby areas to showcase our courses and inspire them to give technical education a chance when they are considering the careers they want to pursue.
“The trades taught in the country’s seven national technical colleges have become game-changers when it comes to income generation, job creation and development of relevant skills for developing nations like ours.”
Nasawa Technical College, with support from the Save Project, plans to construct a 60-bed girls’ hostel to expand access to the trades on offer for the likes of Priscilla. The project has also purchased a bus for the college and supported some instructors to attain further education.
“Similar construction projects are underway in all public universities where we are expanding buildings to create an inclusive environment where the youth can obtain relevant skills not only for the job market but also the country’s economic growth,”says Save communication specialist Anderson Fumulani.
This excites Rudo Munyepu, a Form Four student at Devine Destiny Private Secondary School.
“I came to see what happens at Nasawa Technical College. I cannot wait to come and learn hands-on skills here as part of my vision to become an engineer,” she said.
