Minister of Labour and Vocational Training, Ken Kandodo has advised Technical, Entrepreneurial and Vocation Education and Training Authority (TEVETA) to revise their curriculum so that they suit the needs of the new market.
Kandodo said this in Blantyre when he visited TEVETA Regional Offices in the Southern Region as part of his familiarization tour. He said his Ministry has received feedback from companies with employers expressing dissatisfaction with the current curriculum used by the institution.
He said life is changing and it is only realistic to follow with the changing times and therefore the curriculum must also be up to speed to keep up with the changing times.
“We want to improve and promote job creation in Malawi and we have a target which is one million jobs. Therefore, TEVETA is key to this process because we need a workforce that is skilled and properly trained,” said Kandodo.
The Minister said that quality education does not come cheap and therefore for the institution to have quality education and well qualified teachers they need to adjust their school fees a little in order to achieve that.
“Am sure parents would not mind paying a little extra money as long their children get the best quality education at the end of the day,” he said.
Executive Director of TEVETA Southern Region Offices, Wilson Nkhoma said the Minister’s visit is a big boost to the institution and are happy that Government is including them in the creation of the one million jobs.
He said his office has taken on board the call for revision of the curriculum so that it is up to date with technology.
“Sometimes we are slow to respond to the needs of the industry, because of what it takes to develop a curriculum and implement it. There is need to also retrain our staff to handle that curriculum,” said Nkhoma