Parliamentary Committee Commends NCHE for Going Fully Online

Malawi-The National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) has received praise from the parliamentary committee on education for its decision to fully introduce an online application system for public universities, writes Alinafe Nyanda.

This means that, from this year onwards, NCHE is going fully online, with no more hard copy application forms,

The committee described the development as very important not only to the education sector but also to the nation as a whole.

During an interface with NCHE representatives in Salima on Saturday, Member of Parliament for Thyolo Central Constituency, Ben Phiri, said the purpose of the meeting was to brief parliamentarians on the progress made by NCHE.

Phiri explained that NCHE is responsible for the selection of students to universities, but in the past, parliamentarians and the community had many questions without answers as to why some candidates with good scores were not selected.

"This is the computer system that has been programmed, and according to the demonstrations that have been given to us, it's a brilliant system and can't be manipulated easily, so we are sure that a computer is very intelligent and you can manage it better than an individual," said Phiri.

NCHE Chairperson Beatrice Mtimuni also concurred with Phiri, saying that the online application system is the way to go because they have experienced constraints in the past where candidates who scored 14 points or less were not selected.

She added that the online system would help candidates choose the right program for which they qualify.

As part of the process, NCHE will organize sensitization clinics in designated secondary schools across the country to educate candidates on how the online system works.