By George Banda
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Malawi ( ICAM) and The Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences ( MUBAS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU) aimed at enhancing business partnership among the two organisations.
Under the partnership agreement MUBAS will be offering Degree, Diploma and Certificate programmes through its Continuing Education Centers (CEC) to ICAM students.
Speaking in Blantyre on Friday during the MoU signing ceremony, ICAM Chief Executive Officer Dr Francis Gondwe described the partnership as a milestone towards addressing continued profession development, research and tuition challenges that the Institute was facing.
Gondwe said:”Among other things this business partnership agreement will help us to recruit and provide tuition to level 3 students as there’s no tuition provider for the level in the country”.
“Through this partnership we hope a number of our students will increase, as we observed a decline of students sitting for our examinations” added Gondwe.
MUBAS Vice Chancellor Associate Professor Nancy Chitera, said the MoU will also help the institutions to reduce costs as they will be sharing resources and utilisation of existing facilities.
” We have human resource, infrastructure and other supporting services and ICAM has different accounting related programmes that will enable to attract more students across the country,” Said Chitera.
She said:”The agreement will also help the institutions to effectively contribute towards the realization of the Malawi 2063 vision under the human resource development through widening access to quality education programmes”.
In the agreement MUBAS through its Continuing Education Centers is expected to open facilities in Salima, Mzuzu and other areas for the introduction of Certificate in Financial Accounting, Technician Diploma level 1,2 and 3.
Degree programmes are expected to be offered in all CEC campuses in liaison with respective academic departments and facilities at MUBAS.