* As it graduates 2nd cohort of certificate for Open Distance eLearning
* From the 162 ODeL short course graduates, 68 are females with 84 males
By Duncan Mlanjira
At the graduation of 162 students who successfully passed their certificates in the short courses of Open Distance eLearning (ODeL), Malawi University of Science & Technology (MUST) intends to expand by offering two degree programs in 2022 — BSc. in Sciences Education and BA in Language, Communication & Culture.
This was disclosed at the graduation ceremony on Tuesday at MUST Campus at Goliati, Thyolo by Dr. Robert Chanunkha — the Executive Dean of the faculty of Bingu School of Culture & Heritage.
He said they have been spurred by the tremendous increment in the ODeL graduates since 2020 when the program was started with support from USAID, through the Strengthening Higher Education Access in Malawi Activity (SHEAMA).
Dr. Robert Chanunkha
“In 2020, MUST was offering only one program, that is the Business and Entrepreneurship short course,” Chanunkha said. “There were 30 students that successfully completed the course and received their certificates.
“Today, the 162 graduates have successfully completed five short certificate courses — 98 students in Business and Entrepreneurship; 13 in Fundamentals of Geographic Information System (GIS); 30 in GIS and Remote Sensing for Disaster Risk Management; 9 in GIS and Remote sensing for Natural Resources Management and 12 in Geospatial Database Management.
“This represents a remarkable achievement for our university. With the humble beginnings in 2020, we are still expanding and among the courses that will be offered next year are two degree programs in addition to our on-going programs and also some new short courses that have been developed.”
The graduating students
He further said MUST’s expansion of ODeL programs is in line with the Malawi 2063 agenda, to increase higher education access in Malawi and in addition, “ODeL is the way to go especially with the CoVID-19 pandemic, in which it has become necessary to avoid congestion in the university campus”.
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He implored on the graduating students that this was “the beginning of another journey into the world” and quoted Nora Roberts as once said: ‘If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place’.
“My hope today to all the graduating students is for you to continue, after your graduation, to put into practice what you have gained for your own good and the good of the nation. I want you to be on top of things in your areas of expertise wherever you go within and outside the country.
“Les Brown once said: ‘Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else’ — that way each one of us can contribute a great deal to the country and the world where the need of our services is required.”
Chanunkha also quoted Tom Brokaw; “You are educated. You may think of your certificate as the ticket to good life. Let me ask you to think of an alternative. Think of it as your ticket to change the world”.
Chanunkha told the graduates the he echoes the same line of thought, saying “think of an alternative — not the certificate and be the agents of positive change for the better world”.
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“When you are there, in the world, please always remember that you are MUST ambassadors. As our pioneer students, you should represent the university well, through hard work, honesty and integrity. Please join our alumni once it is established,” he encouraged them.
He commended all efforts for the success of the 2nd cohort through the stakeholders that included USAID as donor; SHEAMA; Ministry of Education (for hosting MUST in their secondary schools in Kasungu and Mulanje) and The Arizona State University — MUST’s US university partner.
From the 162 ODeL short course graduates, 68 females with 84 males while Certificate in Business Management & Entrepreneurship had 98 of 43 were female.
There were 13 in Certificate in Fundamentals of Geographic Information System (GIS) that had four females; 11 females were amongst the 30 in in GIS and Remote Sensing for Disaster Risk; 4 in the 9 that passed the GIS and Remote Sensing for Natural Resources Management and 6 females of the 12 in Geospatial Database Management.
One of the female graduates