Mzuzu Needs TTC- Education Committee

Chilenga (right)

A Parliamentary Committee for Education accuses government for overlooking at importance of re-establishment of Mzuzu Teacher Training College (TTC) since long ago it was changed to Mzuzu University.

A lot of members of Parliament from the northern region particularly those from Mzimba district have also been complaining through various forums including in the National Assembly that government has sidelined people of North for not re-establish their Mzuzu TTC.

However, government maintains ‘the decision was normal and there is nothing wrong’ according to Minister of Education Science and technology Emmanuel Fabiano

He argued that the decision to change Mzuzu TTC to University was based on demand for secondary school teacher’s and there is no need to complain for replacement as teacher colleges do not only benefit people from within districts near the college but the nation at large.

“In the first place the Teacher Training College that was in Mzuzu was not for Mzuzu, the people that went there to train as primary school teachers came from other part of the country.” He said

He also mentioned that the decision to change the status of TTC to University without replacement was not new odd by giving an example of similar primary school teacher training colleges that were changed to institution that train Secondary School teachers which now offer Diploma and Degree programmes including Domasi college of Education.

“So what happened in Domasi is similar to what happened in Mzuzu” and added “In a similar way in 1973, government decided that Soche College that was training Secondary teachers at Diploma and Degree level started training primary school teachers”

He continued “Am sure that when the government made the decision at that time was looking at the demand for the secondary school teachers. The demand was very high”

He said “So depending on need government will change the status of an institution so that it meet the demands at that particular time”

He also indicated that in order to promote quality education in primary school level new colleges will be established in Rumphi, Mchinji and in Chikwawa and that funding is available and that by the end of this year they may be completed.

But in an interview, Parliamentary committee on Education lambasts over government failure to make immediate re-establishment of Mzuzu Teacher Training College (TTC) since it was changed to Mzuzu University in 1997.

“This issue has been overlooked by government” reacted chairperson for the Education Committee in parliament, hon. Elias Chakwera who emphasized that “Ideally when Mzuzu TTC was taken over by coming in of the Mzuzu University we needed to relocate Mzuzu TTC to another place so that our numbers in terms of Teacher Training Colleges are not affected by that.”

He therefore asked government to seriously look at the issue “It’s true that when we train teachers in all TTC’s we are not saying that those teachers will be teaching in those districts, but the issue here is that when that TTC was taken way we had lost in terms of number of teachers to be produced and in order for us to regain that number we needed to have a TTC.”

Chakwera said in which case, there is no valid justification that city of Mzuzu considered as centre for the northern region is not equipped with all necessary amenities that could support education such as Teacher Training College.

He therefore said it is an anomaly to have no TTC in Mzuzu and that though there may have excuses but they don’t add-up to anything in terms of what government should be thinking about plan for this country

The Education Chairperson said though the matter was not discussed in the committee but was hopeful that it will take up the matter seriously.