SEMESTER RESET

The Inauguration of the Confucius Institute is a welcome move in the sense that it sees the University of Malawi achieving yet another level of international recognition, through its enabling of multicultural awareness in its students and staff, many of whom have already added Chinese to their multilingual repertoire.

It is during the same period that the Faculty of Education successfully held three different conferences. The presentations at these conferences confirmed the mission of the Faculty to engage the public through sharing research findings on the role of education in the country, and indeed the continent.

Another key development during this period is the progress made in the World Bank funded Skills Development Project. With funding from the project, a number of members of staff are undergoing training. Currently, there is a tracer study being carried out under the project, as a mode of collecting data on Education Science graduates. It is very likely that this tracer study shall form the basis for other similar exercises to be carried out by the college, in order to evaluate the various programmes that have been offered for years.

These are all indications that, even in times when we are not engaged in our regular activities, the College continues to function. No rest for the academic, a wise man once said.

However, our optimal performance is when lectures are properly in session. In this regard, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The college is due to open in September. We hope we can finish the semester, and indeed the academic year, without further disturbances.