Good morning
to you all
I would like to express my profound gratitude and deep
appreciation to be invited to this important interview on Quality Assurance. It
is with great humility that I accept to be the Guest of Honour today and I do
not this for granted.
Director of
Ceremonies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen
Higher education is central to economic and political
development, and vital to competitiveness in an increasingly globalizing
knowledge society. In the case of Africa and Malawi in particular, higher education
plays a critical capacity building and professional training role in support of
all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Malawi Growth and Development
Strategy (MGDS).
Recent research findings indicate that expanding HE promotes
faster technological catchup and improves a country’s ability to maximize its
economic output (Bloom, Canning, and
Chan 2006).
Distinguished
Ladies and Gentlemen
It should be noted a new range of competences, such as
adaptability, team work, communication skills, and the motivation for continual
learning, have become critical. Thus, HE institutions are challenged to adjust
their programme structures, curricula, teaching and learning methods to adapt
to these new demands.
In recognition of this challenge, greater attention is being
focused on quality assurance (QA) as a critical factor to ensuring educational
relevance. The World Bank’s Constructing Knowledge Societies: New
Challenges for Tertiary Education underscores the
importance of establishing robust quality assurance systems as necessary
instruments for addressing today’s challenges in HE (World Bank 2002).
Distinguished
Ladies and Gentlemen
QA in higher education has become not only an institutional
and national issue in the region (SADC and Africa) but also a global one.
Universities and colleges throughout the world today are
focusing special attention on designing and implementing new quality assurance
mechanisms and systems in order to ensure that students receive high quality
and relevant education and that degrees and diplomas are widely recognised.
Such recognition is seen to be essential not only by national governments and
employers but also by other universities and employers internationally.
Quality education is a prerequisite to gain access to knowledge
which guarantees economic development. This makes the condition of HE in Malawi
a very critical issue.
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