Malawi Govt gives University of Livingstonia full accreditation
After waiting for nine years, Malawi Government has finally granted University of Livingstonia full accreditation.
Delivering the news Saturday at Ekwendeni CCAP Mission during the sixth congregation of the university, Vice President Khumbo Kachali said government has now finally given full accreditation to the institution after satisfying the minimum requirements set by government.
“Ladies and gentlemen, based on the academic and infrastructural review of the university, I’m pleased to announce and confirm that government has now officially granted accreditation to this University for purposes of granting Diplomas and Degrees in Malawi,” Kachali said, attracting jubilation from the congregation.
The accreditation means that all programmes offered at the university are now fully recognised by government, ending a long battle for accreditation between Livingstonia Synod and government, as the latter only gave accreditation to humanities programmes only three years ago.
Reacting to the news, Principal of Laws Campus, a constituent of the university, Moses Mlenga thanked government for the decision to grant the much sought full accreditation to the university.
“I am extremely happy today to hear that now we are a fully government accredited institution. We have really worked very hard to attain this status. We had to invest a lot in the university to make sure we meet government requirements.
“We had to engage partners like Malawi Telecommunications Limited to provide the institution with a world class internet services and others so that at least we pass through the government test. I’m really happy today,” Mlenga said in an interview after the graduation ceremony.
He further disclosed that with the university’s new status, the institution will now start contemplating of introducing new programmes since now the public will have confidence in them.
“Among others, we will now increase our intake from the current 350 students a year to about 800. We also have to enhance other areas like ICT and science laboratories to meet the anticipated growth in intake,” he said.
A fourth year Bachelor of Arts student Jason Kumwenda expressed happiness towards the full accreditation.
“Now we can breathe a sigh of relief. As students, we are really glad for this since now we will be recognised by government and prospective employers. This will hopefully increase our chances of competing with other students from different Universities,” he said.
During the graduation, a total of 40 students graduated in different programmes. Eight students were awarded Licentiate in Theology, six with Diploma in Theology and 26 with degrees in education humanities and science.
