LUANAR Intensifies quality assurance drive

MALAWI: Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) is currently reviewing the quality assurance systems to expedite the process of achieving ISO Certification.

LUANAR Council Chairperson Zachary Kasomekera made the remarks last Wednesday during the fifth LUANAR congregation at Natural Resources College (NRC).

Professor Kasomekera said this is an important step for the University as it drives to achieve world-class status.

He further disclosed that the University was also reviewing the Performance Management System to make it more user-friendly and relevant as well as undertaking a functional review aimed at aligning the systems and structures so that they serve the institution better and championing full-time equivalency policy implementation to improve and rationalize the Student to Teacher ratio.

He said LUANAR is a vital partner in the realization of the goals and objectives of the country’s Agenda 2063 saying agriculture will be playing a pivotal role in the actualization of this agenda.

“LUANAR has the technical know-how to transform the agriculture sector into a vibrant processed finished products entity that can effectively turn around the Malawi economy,” said Professor Kasomekera.

He urged the government to use LUANAR as an implementation agency of agricultural transformation to realize increased value addition for the country’s agricultural produce.

In his remarks LUANAR Vice-Chancellor, Professor Emmanuel Kaunda said LUANAR has embarked on several initiatives to improve quality education, widen access and improve University governance which are key pillars under the Malawi National Education Sector Implementation Plan.

He said to improve teaching and learning, the University has just concluded a comprehensive and consultative curricula review exercise which has further enriched the programmes to ensure that they are relevant and responsive to the needs of the industry.

“LUANAR has ensured that the programmes are aligned to the market trends, with impact on society. We have also systematically weeded out redundant and overlapping courses and programs. This was a result of the consultations with various stakeholders,” said Professor Kaunda.

Professor Kaunda urged the graduands to have an entrepreneurial mindset as they were graduating in much harder times, where there are more people searching for jobs than the number of available jobs.

“It is awful to think about graduating and not getting a job for so many years, I urge you that what you achieved from LUANAR is good enough to support you in creating the jobs. I do not doubt that you will continue to impress us with so many achievements in the years to come," he said.

A total of 1902 graduands graduated in this blended congregation, comprising 14 candidates who qualified for Certificates awards, 862 Diploma awards, 967 Bachelor’s degree awards, 55 Master of Science’s degree awards, and four Doctoral of Philosophy awards.

In terms of gender, 1177 were male while 725 were female graduands, representing 38 % female and 62 % are male which was a greater improvement as compared to previous years.