Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Labour, Youth, Sports and Manpower Development Mr. Joseph Mwandidya is in Nairobi, Kenya attending a Pan African High-Level Conference on Education (PACE).

This year’s conference provides an opportunity to share progress, success stories, challenges and lessons learned by Member States thus far and to contribute to the ongoing discussions on the 2063 African Union vision of The Africa We Want.

As one of the presenters at the conference, Mr. Mwandidya shared with the participants what the Government of Malawi is doing in creating “Ngwazi Zazikazi” (Female Champions) through the Technical, Entrepreneurial, and Vocational Education and Training (TEVET) system.

The focus of his presentation was on the barriers faced by women to enter skills training colleges and the steps the Malawi government is taking with support through initiatives such as the Skills and Technical Education Programme (STEP).  The development of new codes of conduct for instructors/administrators and students, clear disciplinary action to take in cases of misconduct, and ensuring instructors are trained in gender responsive pedagogy are just some of the important ways to address these limiting barriers.

In his presentation, he said that the Government of Malawi is making progress in expanding the provision of improved TEVET to its young people by building community technical colleges and community skills development centres in its smaller centres and introducing harmonized curriculum.

The conference has been organized under two themes which are building skilled African citizenry as agents of change through leveraging the Demographic Dividend in Africa and building a conducive environment for education transformation in Africa: promoting good governance, leadership and accountability in education management.

At the end of the conference participants from 54 African Member States are expected to have an improved understanding on key issues for the development of education in Africa, including a commitment for enhanced collaboration and sharing of best practices among countries.