Socam asks Malawi Govt to reconsider MCA, Poly merger

Society of Accountants in Malawi (Socam) has asked government to reconsider its decision to merge Malawi College of Accountancy (MCA) with Polytechnic, saying the former was meant to be a centre for professional development while the latter is an academic institution.

Socama chief executive officer Daniel Dunga was commenting in an interview on Monday to government proposal to merge the two institutions.

“MCA was never intended to be a university, but a professional development centre which is different from an academic institution.

“Bureaucracy and decision structures of an academic institution have been found to be inappropriate for a centre of professional studies which normally require autonomous decision-making and swift adaptation to changes in the profession,” argued Daniel Dunga.

He said Socam expected that with the enactment of the Public Accountants and Auditors Bill later this year, MCA would be providing special national qualifications in accountancy.

“And that can only work if MCA remains an autonomous centre of excellence in accounting studies,” said Dunga.

Ministry of Education Science and Technology spokesperson Lindiwe Chide said in an interview on Monday that they are still consulting on the merger.