Lilongwe University of Agriculture  secures funding for construction of hostels 

May 7, 2019 Watipaso Mzungu Jnr -Nyasa Times 4 Comments

Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) Vice Chancellor Professor George Kanyama-Phiri says they have secured funding for the construction of two hostels to address accommodation problems at the college.

Luanar students line up to receive their certificates

Phiri said construction of the hostels – are planning to construct a 4,000-bed hostel at Bunda Campus and a 2,000-bed hostel at the Natural Resources College (NRC) Campus – will start soon after they finalise agreements with the financiers.

“We are pleased to announce that Old Mutual Malawi and M & M have agreed to fund the project. We thank government, which took a very important role in securing this fund because this is a loan, which will need to be repaid,” he said.

Kanyama-Phiri made the remarks on Tuesday on the sidelines of the graduation of the third congregation (session 2) of the college.

He said the hostels will drastically address the challenges that the students, particularly girls, face to access accommodation at the campuses.

And commenting on the graduands, the Vice Chancellor said the young men and women are prepared to go an extra mile by not only getting employment, but also creating employment for themselves and others.

“We have programmes that equip the learners with skills to run their own businesses other than scrambling for white-collar jobs only. Malawi needs young people with demonstrable knowledge and skills to help steer national economic agenda through promotion and sustenance of entrepreneurship,” he said.

“Malawi needs people/graduates that can transform agriculture in the modern way. And that is exactly what LUANAR does when preparing these students,” Kanyama-Phiri stressed.

Chairperson of the University Council of Malawi, Professor James Seyani, urged the graduating students to cultivate values of talent, ambition, intellect, discipline, persistence and good fortune if they are to succeed in life.

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4 replies on “Lilongwe University of Agriculture  secures funding for construction of hostels ”

  1. How are you uncle GY? Congratulations to you and the whole LUANAR for the direction taken! This is the direction we should take as a nation. I do understand LUANAR in the recent years has had its internet infrastructure improved tremendously and now we are hearing this good news. The only thing we could be looking forward to so far and not the stadiums we are being promised every day. However, my little observations;

    1. Malawi being an agriculture country, LUANAR has a share of responsibility in our devastating state. I would think of thousands of Malawians that have passed through the corridors of Bunda and NRC, but, we literally see no fruit. I would personally suggest LUANAR should rethink its delivery methods especially in research. Its high time we see lecturers and students collaborating even beyond campus bounds.

    2. Conduct and quality of lecturers. I would suggest this should be considered as well. I would suggest lecturers should be there to propel emotional intelligence among students, instil in them growth mindset and prepare them to embrace change. Previous observations show that lecturers at LUANAR are there to intimidate students (I wont mention an example of one useless guy who is now out into politics) if not abusing the girl student (hmmmm…this is really nuisance at Bunda and NRC). This is sad. Very sad indeed. Elsewhere, lecturers are the people who make students enjoy their learning.

    That said, all the best with your developmental plans. Looking forward to seeing a time when you people will spearhead programs that will bring real changes like land consolidation programs and farm mechanization (not the tractor-gate things of course) just to mention a few.

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