NEWS:

14 Jun, 2016


Prof Otunga: The newly appointed Board Chairperson
Vice Chancellor of the University of Eldoret in Kenya, Professor Ruth Otunga was on Wednesday 8th June 2016 elected as chairperson to lead the Regional Academic Advisory Board for programs in aquaculture and fisheries sciences at the Board’s first meeting in Lilongwe,
The fifty eight year old Professor will lead a Board, which is responsible for quality assurance in the implementation of the regional PhD in the sciences, which the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) is hosting for the Sub-Sahara region.

Malawi contributes two members to the currently six-member board and these are LUANAR’s Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Emmanuel Kaunda, whose institution hosts the secretariat of the Board and Dr Daniel Jamu from World Fish Centre.

Other members completing the board include Dr Stephen John Bulirwa from Uganda’s National Research Council; Professor Jay R. Stauffer, Jr, from Pennyslavia State University –USA and Professor Warwick Sauer from Rhodes University in South Africa.

Reacting to her election, Otunga –the only female in the board – pledged professionalism in leading the Board which she says is crucial to growing the region’s food and nutritional security.

“This is never a one man show. It will require concerted efforts from all stakeholders and apart from being responsible for quality assurance; the board will also be responsible in phasing out the programme to other member universities, and deciding on courses that may be done in other member universities as part of the joint-degree training.”

Otunga also the board will also seek to influence policy for adoption of the PhD program in Sub Saharan Africa and facilitate alignment of the PhD program to harmonized regional qualification frameworks.

The role of the Chairperson of the Board will be rotating annually among the participating countries/ universities but the secretariat will remain at LUANAR’s Bunda campus in Lilongwe.

In Malawi alone, fish accounts for 60-70 per cent of annual animal protein intake by the population, according to experts. In addition, the fisheries sector is an important source of employment and income for a considerable number of people; hence the board seeking to enhance capacity in those trained in the sector.


Written By: Fatsani Gunya, Contributor.