REMARKS BY MR ANTHONY MUYEPA PHIRI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, AT THE OFFICIAL CLOSING CEREMONY OF THE 2014 NATIONAL SCHOOLS SCIENCE FAIR HELD AT KAMUZU ACADEMY, KASUNGU ON TUESDAY, 1ST JULY, 2014
• OUR GUEST OF HONOUR, MR. VINCENT NG’AMBI, MP., DEPUTY MINISTER OF EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY;
• MRS. CHIKONDANO MUSSA, DIRECTOR OF SECONDARY AND DISTANCE EDUCATION;
• THE HEADMASTER OF KAMUZU ACADEMY, MR. F.J. COOKE AND YOUR MEMBERS OF STAFF;
• THE CHIEF JUDGE AND YOUR PANEL OF JUDGES;
• THE GUEST SPEAKER, PROFESSOR ADDRESS MALATA;
• CHIEF KAOMBA AND OTHER TRADITIONAL LEADERS HERE PRESENT
• THE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE;
• REPRESENTATIVES OF VARIOUS SECONDARY SCHOOLS;
• SCIENCE STUDENTS;
• MEMBERS OF THE PRESS;
• LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.
Our Guest of Honour, dear students, ladies and gentlemen, let me join the Headmaster of Kamuzu Academy to welcome you all to the 2014 national schools science fair. I would like to thank you Guest of Honour for making sure that you attend this years’ fair, considering that you are relatively knew in the Ministry, and that entails a lot of equally pressing issues to attend to, nevertheless you found it necessary to be here with us today. Once again, on behalf of the Organizing Committee of this fair and on my own behalf, we express our gratitude for this commitment.
Our Guest of Honour, ladies and gentlemen, I feel greatly honoured to stand here and make a few remarks. The National Commission for Science and Technology is particularly pleased to note the continued political will to move the science and technology agenda forward. It was refreshing, Honourable Minister, to listen to the State President, His Excellency, Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika when he delivered the State of the Nation Address and opening of the provisional budget session of parliament, in which he reiterated governments’ commitment to the advancement of science and technology in this country.
Our Guest of Honour, Students, Ladies and Gentlemen, let me take this opportunity to assure you that the National commission for Science and Technology appreciates this commitment and will therefore continue to support and work with all stakeholders in advancing the development and application of science and technology. We therefore find the collaborative initiatives by Kamuzu Academy, Anglia Books Limited, Press Trust and Lab Enterprises, not only welcome, but a clear manifestation of their commitment to cause of science and technology in Malawi. On its part the National Commission for Science and Technology will continue to implement in collaboration with other players various programmes and strategies that aim at contributing to the transformation of the economy from a resource based to knowledge based through the application of science and technology.
Honourable Deputy Minister, ladies and Gentlemen, I would also like to take this opportunity to encourage the boys and girls here present, and all those who may not be here but will be able to watch or read about this ceremony that besides working with Kamuzu Academy, Anglia Books, Press Trust, Lab Enterprises and other players in the schools science fair, the Commission also runs annual secondary school science competition which is based on the results of the Malawi School Certificate of Education. The winners of the competition receive cash prizes equivalent to one year tuition fees in the University of Malawi. This is all meant to encourage the boys and girls to not only pursue science but also aim high.
Director of Ceremonies, ladies and gentlemen, the National Commission for Science and Technology, also runs the annual African Union and the World Academy of Sciences competition, popularly known as AU-TWAS Competition, which aims at recognizing scientific excellence among our researchers, in the country. In this competition we target researchers who have a good record of research and publication, especially research that has positively contributed to the development of the country. The winners of which receive USD5000. All these initiatives, Honourable Deputy Minister, highlight the importance of harnessing science and technology if we are to transform our economy.
Our Guest of Honour, Director of ceremonies, ladies and gentlemen, let me also mention that, the NCST recognizes the gender imbalance in science, and that most girls consider science difficult. In this respect the Commission supports professional women scientists to conduct mentor sessions for the girls in schools across the country, so that the girls know that there are women out there who have made greater achievements in the field of science and technology, and let me add that we deliberately identified Professor Address Malata as our Keynote Speaker at this years’ fair, just to stress that fact.
Honourable Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen, may also agree with me that infrastructure availability for effective delivery of science subjects still remains as a challenge. For instance most community day secondary schools, do not have laboratories, however, they still offer science subjects. In this regard the Commission has in the past years conducted targeted training sessions for science teachers, to enhance their innovative skills in science teaching, with the use of locally available resources, it is therefore encouraging to note that the majority of the displays today have arisen from innovative ideas, by mainly focusing on locally available resources.
Honourable Deputy Minister, Director of Secondary and Distance Education, Kamuzu Academy Management, our dear students, ladies and gentlemen, let me end my remarks by reiterating that the Commission will continue to collaborate with all players to ensure that science and technology continues to influence our way of doing things in the country. My special thanks should go to Anglia Books Limited and Kamuzu Academy management for their great vision in reviving these science fairs, because in them we have found true partners.
With these remarks, Our Guest of Honour, dear students, ladies and gentlemen, I thank you all for your attention.
