Teveta laments low number of females enrolled in technical courses

Teveta has expressed concern about the low number of female students in its technical courses, which men overwhelmingly dominate (Richard Kayenda)

Sichiola

Malawi: The Technical, Entrepreneurial, and Vocational Education Training Authority (Teveta) has expressed concern about the low number of female students in its technical courses, which men overwhelmingly dominate.

Speaking during a half-day interaction with the Northern Region-based media grouping, Nyika Media Club - NMC, on Friday in Mzuzu, Teveta executive director, Elwin Chiwembu Sichiola, said girls have more opportunities when they apply for courses that are mostly deemed as and thus are full of male students.

"The number of females who are accessing Tevet is still meagre. There has been progress, but we are not where we would like to be. I mean if you go into most technical colleges and you compare the number of females and males; especially in hard skills, we still have very low female numbers. So, as Teveta, we have been running career guidance programs for some time. Currently, we are implementing those programs through the PEAs who are going into various schools to educate; especially, the female students about the opportunity that is available for them when they choose to go into Tevet and more especially in the hard skills," said Sichiola.

While agreeing with Sichiola NMC Chairperson, Joseph Mwale, the media has the potential to change youth attitudes toward skills as a viable route to economic development.

Mwale said: "With the power and the presence that we have, it is ideal that Teveta partners with us because we will be able to alert the country on what innovations people in the region are providing. On the other hand, we have people where Teveta is training people that will also be writing stories about success stories emanating from the training. In so doing, you will find out that in some areas where, maybe, people have not benefitted from such training, people will demand services from Teveta."

Journalists during the interaction with Teveta

Teveta is a regulatory body established in 1999 by an Act of Parliament with the mandate to regulate, promote, and facilitate the country's long-term provision of high-quality technical, entrepreneurial, and vocational education and training.