Mzuni’s K2.9bn tourism centre takes off

Mzuzu University (Mzuni) has started constructing a tourism skills development centre partly funded by the World Bank to the tune of $4.1 million (almost K2.9 billion).

Speaking when he visited the project at Dunduzu on the northern boundary of Mzuzu City, Mzuni dean of Faculty of Tourism, Hospitality and Management Daniel Harawa  said the project is expected to be complete by June next year.

“The project comes in response to national needs. Government has elevated tourism to be one of the economic pillars for the country’s socio-economic development. Therefore, there was a need that we have an elaborate facility to produce workers with requisite skills for the tourism sector,” he said.

Presently, local hotels send staff outside the country for further education due to lack of training institutions.

The centre is designed to have purpose-built facilities to offer unique skills and competencies.

At present, Harawa’s faculty churns out about 200 trainees every year.

Samson Mbewe, director of higher education in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, said the project will expand access to higher education.

“We started with free primary education which saw many students acquiring primary and secondary education. We now need to increase access to higher education so that the youth have the required skills,” he said. n