A TRACER STUDY OF 2011-2015 GRADUATES FROM THE LAND

MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME AT MZUZU UNIVERSITY

Mtafu Manda
Email: manda.ma@mzuni.ac.mw
&
Isaac Matidza
Email: isaacmatidza@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT
The paper discusses the results of the tracer study of the 2011 to 2015 Land Management graduates at Mzuzu

University (Mzuni). The purpose of the study was to evaluate how the land management programme has

contributed to job creation to respond to the staffing shortages in the land sector in Malawi . A questionnaire was

used to interview 39 graduates and 7 employers both identified using the snow ball technique. The findings suggest

that the majority of the graduates secured employment within two years of leaving Mzuni and that the government

was the largest employing institution. However, many of these graduates only returned to positions they held before

going to the university to upgrade their qualification. In addition, although the number of graduates was minimal,

some remained unemployed despite the many vacancies in the sector. The paper proposes regulating recruitment into

the programme.

Key concepts: tracer study, employability, higher education, land management

INTRODUCTION

The role of higher education in sustainable human development and contribution to economic

growth and long-term benefits to society is well recognised (USAID, 2014). Curriculum is a

fundamental aspect of any training programme as education institutions seek to translate and

actualise societal goals and values (Alade, 2011; James, Lefoe & Hadi, 2004). Governments look

up to universities not only in production of human capital, but also in generating and

disseminating knowledge, as well as innovation for sustainable development and competitiveness

in a globalising world (UNESCO, 2012; Materu, 2007; World Bank, 2010, p.187). It is therefore

Journal of Education and Society in Southern Africa, Vol.3 No.3 pp. 45-67, 2016
expected that graduates of higher learning will have knowledge and generic skills that meet the

requirements of society. Specifically, Chan, Brown and Ludlow (2014) argue that society expects

students to develop discipline-specific competence as well as generic skills and dispositions. The

authors believe that education is about discipline specific knowledge dispositions and cognitive

skills that enable graduates to be effective citizens in the 21st century. Among the relevant

employability or generic skills are communication, writing, innovation, tolerance, and

compassion, while the required dispositions include attitudes, beliefs, team spirit, and curiosity

(Chan, Brown and Ludlow, 2014; UNESCO, 2012, p.4) All the same, unemployment of

graduates is recorded in many countries. While financial crises and economic downturns are

contributory, the supply side factors such as relevance of programmes and skills are noted to

contribute to graduate unemployment (UNESCO, 2012). For example, Rasiah (2009) noted the

emergence of a skills gap between ‘fit for purpose’ graduates having generic skills that employers

expect and graduates with only subject specific knowledge that institutions produce. One way to

assess the contribution of the higher education institutions to society is to conduct tracer studies

(Heidemann, 2011).

Mzuzu University (Mzuni) has operated since 1998 and the institution embarked on a

comprehensive curriculum transformation in 2014, after nearly 16 years. The curriculum

transformation required academic programmes to conform to expectations of the university’s

qualifications framework and national accreditation requirements. Such changes included

introduction of new faculties and re-naming of programmes. The curriculum transformation

process has been undertaken in the absence of any tracer study of the graduates. Likewise the

land management programme had been introduced in 2006 with three synergetic degree

pathways in the disciplines of planning, estates and surveying (Enemark & Ahene, 2003) to meet

acute staffing shortages in the land sector. In 2002 there were only 29 qualified physical planners,

Journal of Education and Society in Southern Africa, Vol.3 No.3 pp. 45-67, 2016
22 land valuers, 12 licensed land surveyors (Mzuni, 2005). After 10 years, the Mzuni programme

had produced five cohorts totalling 127 graduates. Yet, despite the need for evaluation

specifically stated in the curriculum two years after the first cohort graduation (Mzuni, 2005), no

such assessment had been undertaken. Thus, any curriculum reviews whether at university or

departmental level, lacked any requisite baseline.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent to which the land management programme

has responded to job creation to resolve the staffing shortages in the key sectors of planning,

land surveying and estates management which were identified in the Malawi National Land

Policy of 2002. The specific objectives of the study were:

a) To find out the employment status of Mzuni Land Management program graduates

and the institutions where they work;

b) To find out how long it takes for a graduate to secure employment;

c) To assess the graduates’ level of satisfaction with the degrees offered by the Mzuni

Land Management programme;

d) To examine the perceptions of graduates about the programme;

e) To identify areas of the curriculum that require improvement

The following sections outline the literature on tracer studies, the research method, results and a

discussion of the findings.

LITERATURE REVIEW

One of the factors determining the effectiveness of an academic institution is the employability

of its graduates (Cellis, Festijo and Cueto, 2013). As noted by Rasiah (2009) employers tend to

point their fingers at institutions of higher learning when graduates remain unemployed because

curricula are not industry-relevant. According to Millington (n.d.) when institutions conduct

reviews of programmes, they tend to focus on the production process not the products
Journal of Education and Society in Southern Africa, Vol.3 No.3 pp. 45-67, 2016
(graduates) of training. In order to learn the contribution of an institution to a country, especially

employment prospects, tracer studies of graduates are essential (Lange, 2001; Schomburg, 2003).

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO, 1996) a tracer study is an impact

assessment tool where the impact on a target group is traced back to specific elements of a

project or programme so that effective and ineffective components of the programme may be

identified. Tracer studies, also called graduate studies or follow-up studies or destination of

leavers from higher education surveys, are also a management tool for planning, monitoring and

measuring the relevance of vocational training programmes (Lange, 2001; AAU, 2002; Osei et al.,

2015; Mubuuke, Businge and Kiguli-Malwadde, 2014; Gines, 2014). The importance of tracer

studies has been recognised for a long time. Heidemann (2011:p.10) study of 45 German higher

education institutions concluded that ‘tracer studies provide information about the entry into the

labour market and workforce as well as retrospective evaluations of study programmes’. In some

countries such as the UK, tracer studies are annual.1 To measure the impact of training therefore

requires tracer studies focussing on a cohort of graduates with the key questions being: do

graduates find jobs or do they apply the knowledge and skills learnt? (Schomburg, 2003, cited by

Millington, n.d.; Lange, 2001). Therefore, according to Heidemann (2011) tracer studies will

provide valid information about entry into the labour market and retrospective evaluation of

study programmes. The tracer studies will in addition enhance the marketability of education

programmes (Balingbing, 2014 cited by Osei et al, 2015).

Several institutions across the world have undertaken tracer studies in various disciplines

including education, health, library, and computer studies. Heinemann’s (2011) study of 45

German institutions covering 33,000 graduates found that tracer studies were not only

1 https://www.hesa.ac.uk/stats-dlhe. visited 27 August 2016

Journal of Education and Society in Southern Africa, Vol.3 No.3 pp. 45-67, 2016
retrospective evaluations of study programmes, but also provided valid information about

graduate entry into the labour market and work place.

Asian countries, especially the Philippines, appear particularly keen on tracer studies. Ramirez,

Cruz and Alcantara’s (2014) study in the Philippines’ Rizal Technological University (RTU)

found that students were employable and that there was a significant relationship between

specialisation and occupation after graduation. Cellis, Festijo and Cueto’s (2013) study targeting

the Philippine hotel and restaurant management industry in the Lyceum Province found that

graduates secured jobs within one to two years of graduation even though most worked on

contracts. Another study at the Philippine Normal University (PNU) which is predominantly a

female education institution, found that many (83.6%) graduates were employed immediately

after graduation (by application) but, in addition to skills and knowledge, the reputation of the

university was central to job acquisition (Gines, 2014). The main dissatisfaction at PNU was

related to the duration of teaching practicum which was only two months (Gines, 2014). In

another Philippine study, Aquino et al (2015) report that 91.5% teacher education graduates in

Batanagas were employed even though a good number found jobs because of knowing someone

in the system. Outside the Philippines, the other country to have conducted a tracer study is

Cambodia. As reported by Vong (2014) a tracer study at the Royal University of Phnom Penh

found that most of the graduates had many opportunities to get jobs, even though they had little

or no initial working experience before graduation.

In Africa tracer studies have been spearheaded by the Association of African Universities (AAU).

In the mid 1990’s the AAU conducted tracer studies in 10 countries including Nigeria and

Malawi. The Nigeria study targeted Enugu and Anambra States and focussed on the

manufacturing sector. The study found that students were satisfied with knowledge acquired, but

dissatisfied with the resources available, especially inadequacies of funding (Ugwuonah and

Omeje, 1998).
Journal of Education and Society in Southern Africa, Vol.3 No.3 pp. 45-67, 2016
At national level, several countries in Africa have conducted tracer studies. In South Africa a

study of University of Venda commerce graduates found that though there was a need to

improve on practical skills and computers in the delivery of teaching, the programme was

relevant to job needs (Oseifuah et al., 2014). Likewise a study by the Human Sciences Research

Council of South Africa (2000 cited by Oseifuah et al., 2014) which had traced 1991-1995

graduates found that, despite variations among specialisations, many graduates (59%) who had

tried to secure a first job after graduation, did so immediately. A South African study of

librarians conducted at the University of Zululand found that most graduates were employed in

the public libraries. Furthermore, though 50% were happy with the skills and knowledge

acquired, many were unhappy with the inadequate coverage of ICT and practical work (Shongwe

and Ocholla, 2011).

Fentiman (2007) conducted a tracer study of the Namibia College of Open Learning graduates to

find out how much the college had contributed to creating opportunities for employment. The

researchers found that while 56% were employed, 41% were unemployed. However, the

unemployment figure did not take into account that some of the learners who were

‘unemployed’ were engaged in further education. While reports appear positive in other

countries, Mozambique stands out with negatives. A tracer study of TEVET completers in

Mozambique showed that 74% of 2005 graduates could not find employment in the profession

for which they had been trained (World Bank, 2010, p.194).

In Malawi two major tracer studies have been conducted. The first one was conducted by

Zembere and Chinyama (1996) to analyse changes in the career pattern of University of Malawi

Graduates. The study which was part of the AAU study of 10 African universities, found that

graduates were satisfied with the training provided, the teaching quality, the professional

knowledge and the skills they had acquired. In addition, the graduates claimed that the

knowledge and skills they had gained were an important factor in finding employment (see also
Journal of Education and Society in Southern Africa, Vol.3 No.3 pp. 45-67, 2016
Oseifuah, et al., 2014; Millington, n.d.).The second major tracer study was conducted by Pfeiffer

and Chiunda (2008) to check the level of success of the higher education graduates and TEVET

completers between 2004 and 2007. The higher education component of the study targeted a

total of 492 graduates from five different higher learning institutions. The results of the study

indicate that the higher education sector was successful in preparing graduates for employment

as 85.3% of all respondents had secured employment after graduating. The majority (72.2%)

were in fulltime wage employment, whereas 2.1% were in self-employment, up to 11% worked

part time and 9.9% were seeking employment (World Bank, 2010, p.190). In spite of such

success rate, 74.4% of the employers interviewed noted that the graduates needed up to six

months of induction to effectively start performing professional tasks (Pfeiffer and Chiunda,

2008). The TEVET study which targeted 1026 completers showed that 36.4% were employed

fulltime, 8% were employed part time, 28.6% were self-employed, and only 15.1% remained

unemployed. Further, 4.5% continued with studies , 4.0% combined self-employment and full

time employment, 4.0% were in wage employment and 1.5% were not looking for employment

(World Bank, 2010, p.193-194). More importantly, 85% of the completers secured employment

within 12 months and 80% of the completers worked in the professional fields they had trained

in. The major weaknesses of the training noted in the study included resource inadequacies and

course duration as some (16.3%) perceived the programmes to be too long and others (23.2%)

too short (Pfeiffer & Chiunda, 2008).

Tracer studies in land management or built environment programmes in Malawi are limited

because the programmes are recent or not captured by studies. For example, the Mzuni land

management programme which started in 2006 was not captured by the GTZ/World Bank study

of 2008 (see World Bank, 2010, p.153). None the less, Manda (2013) traced the first cohort of

seven Mzuzu University planning graduates and found that all had been employed in

government, local governments or NGOs; some were on tenured and others on probationary or

Journal of Education and Society in Southern Africa, Vol.3 No.3 pp. 45-67, 2016
temporary positions. The study also found that three of the graduates had changed jobs more

than twice, switching between various departments of government (Manda, 2013).

The need and relevance of tracer studies in Malawi was recently cemented by President

Mutharika when he stated:

‘I urge all universities to undertake tracer studies because we must know what our graduates do with the

education and training they receive. We must know if their education and training prepares them to meet

the current needs of our society. Everywhere, tracer studies and situation analyses must inform every

curriculum review. Periodic tracer studies and curriculum reviews must be standard norms for improving

quality in our higher education’ (Mutharika, 2016).

As a result of the call, national institutions such as National Council for Higher Education

(NCHE) were compelled to conduct training workshops2. The NCHE was to take tracer studies

as an integral part of the accreditation of programmes offered by higher education institutions.

The fear is that with such high level political instruction to higher education institutions as

contained in the president’s call, there may be a tendency towards ‘mimicking reform, but not

genuinely pursuing it’ (USAID, 2014, p. 121).

The brief review of literature shows that tracer studies are an important evaluation of academic

programmes to promote their marketability and employability of their graduates.

RESEARCH METHOD

We collected data using a questionnaire and targeted graduates of Land Management

Department of Mzuni (specialising in planning, estates and land surveying) and relevant

employers. The study focused on the 2011-2015 graduates totalling 127. A total of 39 graduates

2 See advert in the Sunday Nation newspaper of 7th August 2016 (p.5) inviting universities to one of such trainings

Journal of Education and Society in Southern Africa, Vol.3 No.3 pp. 45-67, 2016
 responded to the questionnaire: 11 Land Surveying graduates, 18 Estates Management graduates

and 10 Physical Planning graduates which translates to 30% of each specialisation. The graduates

were identified through snow balling technique because of lack of adequate contact information

on past students. Since the programme was introduced in order to produce trained personnel to

fill vacant positions in the land sector (Manda, 2013), the targeted employers were the Ministries

of Lands and Urban Development and Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development;

city and district councils, planning and land related non state actors. A total of 7 employers were

involved in the study. The data was analysed using excel software to generate simple descriptive

frequencies and charts. Tables 1 and 2 show the total number of graduates and those interviewed

by specialisation.

Table 1: Graduates by specialisation, 2011-2015

Years Planners Estates Surveyors Total

2011 7 16 4 27
2012 9 10 5 24
2013 1 1 0 2
2014 8 15 15 38
2015 93 13 14 36
Total 34 55 38 127
Source: Mzuni Registry, 2015

Table 2: Graduates interviewed by specialisation

Years Physical Estates Land Surveying Total

Planning Management
2011 3 3 1 7
2012 0 4 1 5
2013 1 1 0 2
2014 3 6 6 15
2015 3 4 3 10
Total 10 18 11 39

3A total of nine graduated despite registering 12 because two had a repeat course, one had not submitted the
dissertation

Journal of Education and Society in Southern Africa, Vol.3 No.3 pp. 45-67, 2016
STUDY RESULTS

This section presents results of the study. The section covers the years that the graduates

completed their studies at Mzuni, their employment status, institutions which employ the

graduates, duration it takes for the graduates to secure employment, levels of satisfactions and

perceptions about Land Management Programme.

Graduation Year of the Graduates

The authors of this study found that 30% of respondents had graduated in 2011, 21% in 2012,

5% in 2013, 39% in 2014 and 28% in 2015. As shown in Table 3, there were few participants

from 2013 because only 2 graduated in that year due to the fact that they had carried over

courses from the previous years.

Table 3: Respondents by graduation year

Number of Percentage
Graduation Year
Respondents
2011 7 18
2012 3 8
2013 2 5
2014 17 43
2015 10 26
Total 39 100

Employment Status

Table 4 shows that 90% of the graduates were in employment at the time of the study. None of

the graduates was in self-employment.

Table 4: Employment status

Employment Status Number of Respondents Percentage

Employed 35 90
Unemployed 4 10
Total 39 100

Journal of Education and Society in Southern Africa, Vol.3 No.3 pp. 45-67, 2016
 Employment Institutions

The study also found that the government was the largest employing institution as 49% of the

graduates were working in government departments. The second largest employer was private

sector which includes construction companies and consulting films (23%). State owned

organisations and non-state organisations were not remarkably different with 10% and 8%

respectively (see Table 5).

Table 5: Employment Status

Employment Institutions Number of Respondents Percentage

Government 19 49
NGOs 3 8
Private Sector 9 23
Parastatal Organisation 4 10
Self employed 0 10
Unemployed 4 10
Total 39 100

Duration to Secure Employment

The study found that 40% of the graduates secured employment in less than 6 months while

23% secured jobs within a year and 14% got employed by the end of 2 years. In fact, as shown in

figure 1, all those employed found jobs within 2 years of graduating.

Figure 1: Length of Time to Find Employment

Journal of Education and Society in Southern Africa, Vol.3 No.3 pp. 45-67, 2016
 Length of time to find employment
16 36%
14
12
10 21% 20%
8
6 13%
10%
Number of Respondents 4
2 0%
0

Level of Satisfaction for the Graduates

The graduates were asked to rank their level of satisfaction from very satisfied (highest) to

satisfied (moderate) and not satisfied (negative). The study found that 3% of the graduates were

very satisfied with their current employment. Of all the respondents 59% were satisfied with

their current employment whereas 33% were not satisfied (see Table 6). A comparison between

the specialisation in terms of satisfaction with the current employment shows 65% of the Estates

Management graduates were satisfied, followed by planning graduates (64%) and Surveying

graduates (60%). Three graduates did not respond to this question.

Table 6: Level of satisfaction

Level of satisfaction Number of Respondents Percentage

Very satisfied 3 8
Satisfied 21 59
Not satisfied 12 33
Total 36 100

Perception about the Land Management Programme

Quality of Teaching

The graduates were asked to state their perception of the programme by ranking from good,

satisfactory and poor. The study found that 49% perceived the programme to be good, 46%
Journal of Education and Society in Southern Africa, Vol.3 No.3 pp. 45-67, 2016
perceived the programme to be satisfactory and 5% perceived the land management programme

to be poor (see Table 7).

Table 7: Graduate Level of Satisfaction with teaching quality

Level of satisfaction Number of Respondents Percentage

Good 19 49
Satisfactory 18 46
Poor 2 5
Total 39 100

Quality of Academic Staff

Like with the quality of teaching, graduates were requested to rank their perception of the

academic staff. The study found that, even though there is supposed to be a link between the

quality of teaching and the quality of academic staff, 64 % perceived the quality of academic staff

to be good while 31% perceive it to be satisfactory. However, 5% perceived the quality of

academic staff to be poor (Table 8).

Table 8: Graduate Level of Satisfaction with Academic Staff

Level of satisfaction Number of Respondents Percentage

Good 25 64
Satisfactory 12 31
Poor 2 5
Total 39 100

Satisfaction with Course Material

The study sought to learn the perceptions of graduates on the materials covered in their training.

It was found that 36% perceived the course materials covered to be good and 54 % perceived

the materials to be satisfactory while 10% found the materials covered to be poor (Table 9).

Table 9: Graduate Level of Satisfaction with Course Material

Level of satisfaction Number of Respondents Percentage

Good 14 36
Satisfactory 21 54
Poor 4 10
Total 39 100
Journal of Education and Society in Southern Africa, Vol.3 No.3 pp. 45-67, 2016
Areas that Require Review

The graduates and employers were asked to identify specific areas of learning and teaching that

needed review or incorporation into the curriculum in order to meet the expectations of

graduates and employers. The study found that 92% of the graduates’ view was that more

practical work was required in all the three specialisations while only 5% thought that there was a

need to increase the number of staff. One respondent did not address the question. The views of

graduates differed significantly with those of employers as shown in tables 8 and 9. There was

variation of interests among the seven employers consulted. Two employers proposed the

introduction of post graduate programmes; three suggested increasing practical sessions during

training, while 2 were of the view that renaming of degrees was needed to reflect specific

government institutional nomenclature.

Table 10: Graduate views on area requiring review

Curriculum improvement Number of respondents Percentage

Practical 36 92
No response 1 3
Increase number of staff 2 5
Total 39 100

Table 11: Employers views on Areas requiring review

Curriculum improvement Number of respondents Percentage

Post graduate 2 29
Increased practical sessions 3 42
Change name of degree 2 29
Total 7 100

Journal of Education and Society in Southern Africa, Vol.3 No.3 pp. 45-67, 2016
DISCUSSION

There are three main issues of note in this study. Firstly, according to the approved Land Policy,

the land sector had a deficit of 1830 experts in various categories in 2002 (GoM, 2002). The

study found that most of the graduates entered the government service which appears to fit the

trend of other countries including South Africa and Philippines (see Shongwe and Ocholla, 2015;

Osei et al., 2015). Entering the public service may entail under-developed private and civil society

sectors. As such universities ‘train to staff the civil service’ (cf. Watson and Odendaal, 2012)

even though, as shown by Ugandan radiography graduates who either left the country or joined

the private health facilities, the type of disciplines is a key factor of graduate destination

(Mubuuke et al, 2014).

Although there are programmes running at Natural Resources College (NRC) for technicians,

and Polytechnic of University of Malawi, the contribution of Mzuni Land Management of just

127 graduates in 10 years falls short of expectation. Of concern is that some graduates leaving

Mzuni remained unemployed. Graduate unemployment may be attributed to weaknesses of the

national economy. For example, since 2012 the government, the largest employer, had frozen

any new recruitment until the economy improved because of the huge wage bill (Chikoko, 2014).

Consequently, even self-employment was difficult despite, the graduates having employability

and entrepreneurship skills. If the assertion by Aquino, et al, (2015) that the purpose of going to

universities is to get employed and earn a living, unemployment for graduates should be

worrisome to the university. It is also noted that the side effects of the synergy among

specialisations in the Land Management programme promoted in the first two levels of study

(Manda, 2013; Enermark & Ahene, 2003) became apparent when some graduates secured

employment in areas other than their specialisations. For example, one land surveyor was

employed as an estates management officer in Lands Department, another graduate in estates

Journal of Education and Society in Southern Africa, Vol.3 No.3 pp. 45-67, 2016
management was employed as an assistant surveyor in the Surveys Department, a third graduate

in planning was employed as a Lands Officer in the Lands Department . While the scenario

cannot be taken for granted, it would appear that the intention of the synergy to enable graduates

cross-learn the discipline specific skills, also gives room for a competitive job market even in the

Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development (Manda, 2013).

The second observation relates to graduate satisfaction and perceptions. In our study as in others

(UNESCO, 2012; World Bank, 2010) graduates tend to show satisfaction with the training and

jobs, except with respect to practical sessions of the curriculum (Shongwe and Ocholla, 2011). It

is unclear why inadequacies of practical sessions remain a major challenge, even in relatively

advanced countries, such as those in Asia that have had long experience with tracers. One would

think that the question of time allocation does matter (Manda, 2013), implying that the length of

the training programme is an issue to consider.

With respect to satisfaction with current jobs, it would appear that those not satisfied were

government employees who had not been promoted to higher positions after attaining their

degree status and felt that their positions mismatched their qualifications. While Pfeiffer and

Chiunda (2008) attributed such mismatch to part time employed graduates, in this study full time

employed graduates were also affected. Since positions in government are linked to levels of

education, the freeze of new recruitment and promotions (Chikoko, 2014) could explain the

situation. Nonetheless, there exists a small group that perceives quality to be poor in all respects.

While these may include those unemployed, it is an issue worth investigating.

Employers’ perception of the programmes was related mainly to the naming of degrees rather

than their quality. Employers expressed the view that to enhance employability, the degree names

Journal of Education and Society in Southern Africa, Vol.3 No.3 pp. 45-67, 2016
should reflect the specific job titles in the government sector. Considering that the land

management programmes were largely initiated by the government itself, the call for re-naming

of degrees suggested a change in policy orientation. Reflecting the stated views, the Land

Management Department embarked on renaming its degrees effective 2016 as part of the

university wide curriculum transformation or rebranding. Coming at a time when the Land Bill

(2016) had just been approved, the change in names begged the question whether or not the

initial rationale (see Enermark and Ahene, 2003) for establishing the programme at Mzuni had

been realised. Considering the small number of graduates (Table 1), it would be fair to argue that

the changes were more linked to vested interests than any evidence from research.

The third key issue relates to duration of waiting before securing a job. The results indicate that

the few that secured employment did so within 2 years. A comparison between the three

programme specialisations shows that Estates Management specialisation got employed faster

than Land Surveying and Planning graduates. But, the graduates from degree specialisations who

got jobs faster actually just returned to their previous jobs. As such, the degree certificates appear

only to add value to the graduates rather than create new opportunities for them. This view is

particularly persuasive when one notes that the same graduates are also refused promotions.

The Surveys Department which had the largest staff deficit of 210 in 2002 (Mzuni, 2005) had its

staff rise to 829 in 2012 (Physical Planning Department, 2012) after functional reviews related to

decentralisation policy. The finding would suggest that, either the department is only interested

in upgrading existing employees, or has less trust in the programme in which some of its senior

staff employees, are among the adjunct staff.

CONCLUSION

This tracer study sought to evaluate the extent to which the land management programme had
contributed to job creation as a response to the staffing shortages identified in the Malawi
Journal of Education and Society in Southern Africa, Vol.3 No.3 pp. 45-67, 2016
National Land Policy of 2002. Basing on the analysis of the collected data, it is evident that
Mzuzu University is contributing minimally to the land management sector in terms of satisfying
the expected number of graduates to fill the requisite positions in government. Though the few
that get employed claim to be satisfied with the programme, there are observable weaknesses
related to the practical elements of the programmes. Considering that only a smaller number of
graduates leave the university and yet some of them remain unemployed despite existing
vacancies in the public sector, the intake into the programme could be regulated. A university
wide tracer study would give Mzuni a bigger picture of how it is contributing to the expectations
of potential employers in Malawi.

REFERENCES

Alade, I. A. (2011). Trends and Issues on Curriculum Review in Nigeria and the Need
for Paradigm Shift in Educational Practice. Journal of Emerging Trends in Educational
Research and Policy Studies, 2 (5), 325-333.

Aquino, A. B., Punongbayan, E. J., Macalaguim, L. P., Bauyon, S. M., Rodriguez, R. A., &
Quizon, G. R. (2015). ‘Teacher Education Graduate Tracer Study from 2010 to
2014 in One State University in Patangas, Philippines.’ Asia Pacific Journal of
Multidisciplinary Research 3 (5), 45-50.

Association of African Universities (AAU). (2002). Regional Workshop on Tracer

Studies of Past University Students. University Of Namibia: 7-11 January 2002.

Blair, N., & Manda, M. (2016). ‘A Partnership- based Model for embedding
Employability in urban planning education.’ Urban, Planning and Transport Research, 4(1),
46-63.

Celis, M. I. C., Festijo, B., & Cueto, A. (2013). Graduate Employability: A Tracer Study
of Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management. Journal of Asian
Academic Research Associates, 1 (2), 225-238.

Chan, R., Brown, G. T., & Ludlow, L. (2014). ‘What is the purpose of higher
education?: A comparison of institutional and student perspectives on the goals
and purposes of completing a bachelor’s degree in the 21st century.’

Journal of Education and Society in Southern Africa, Vol.3 No.3 pp. 45-67, 2016
 Paper presented at the annual American Education Research Association (AERA)
conference. Philadelphia, PA: April 5, 2014. Available at
https://www.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhousie/pdf/clt/Events/Chan_Brown_Ludlow
(2014). Pdf.

Chikoko, R. (2014). Government Freezes Recruitment till economy Improves, The

Daily Nation newspaper. 28 December, 2014. Available at
http://mwnation.com/govt-freezes-recruitment-till-economy-improves/

Enemark, S., & Ahene, R. (2003). Capacity Building in Land Management –

Implementing Land Policy Reforms in Malawi. Survey Review, 37 (287), 20-
30.

Fentiman, A. (2007). Tracer Study of former NAMCOL Learners; Research Report:

Centre for Educational Research and Development, Von Hügel Institute, St Edmund’s
College Cambridge CB3 0EQ.

Gines, A. C. (2014). Tracer Studies of Philippine Normal University Graduates.

American International Journal of Contemporary Research, 4(3), 81-98.

Government of Malawi. (2002). National Land Policy, Lilongwe.

Heidemann, L. (2011). Only successful Graduates Respond to Tracer Studies: A Myth?

Results from the German Cooperation Project Tracer Studies,’ AlmaLaurea Working
Paper No. 13 (ISSN 2239-9453).

International Labour Organization (ILO) Thesaurus. (1996-2013). Available at

http://www.ilo.org/public/english/

James, B., Lefoe, G., & Hadi, M. (2004). ‘Working through Graduate Attributes: A
Bottom-up Approach into transforming knowledge into wisdom.’ Proceedings of the 27th
HERDSA Annual Conference, Miri, Sarawak 4-7 July, 2004.

Lange, R. (2001). Manual: Tracer Studies. FAKT GmH.

Journal of Education and Society in Southern Africa, Vol.3 No.3 pp. 45-67, 2016
Manda, M. (2013). Reflections on Planning Education in Malawi. Education and Society in Southern
Africa 1(1). 58-74.

Materu, P. (2007). Higher Education Quality Assurance in Sub Saharan Africa: Status,
Challenges, Opportunities and Promising Practices. World Bank Working Paper
No.124.

Millington, C. (n.d.). The Use of Tracer Studies for Enhancing Relevance and
Marketability in Online and Distance Education. Available at
https://wikieducator.org/images/e/e1/PID_424.pdf

Mubuuke, A. G., Businge, F., & Kiguli-Malwadde, E. (2014). ‘Using graduates as key
stakeholders to inform training and policy in health professions : The Hidden
potential of Tracer Studies,’ AJHPE, 6(1) 52-55.

Mutharika, P. (2016). ‘A Purposive University.’ Chancellor’s Speech at the Graduation

Ceremony at Chancellor College of University of Malawi on 23rd March.

Mzuni. (2005). Land Management Curriculum. Mzuzu, ALMA Consult.

Nyondo, E. (2016). ‘Employers Concerned about Higher Education Products,’

Nation newspaper. 27 July, 2016. Available at
http://mwnation.com/employers-concerned-about-higher-education-products/

Osei, C. K., Dontwi, I. K., Otchere, K. G., & Singye, A. A. (2015). Curriculum
Relevance and Graduate Career: A Tracer Study of CEMBA, CEMPA and
Industrial Mathematics Graduates. Journal of Science and Technology 35(2),
89-99.

Pfeiffer, D., & Chiunda, G. (2008). ‘Tracer Study of TEVET and Higher
Education Completers in Malawi, Final Report.’ Lilongwe. GTZ/World Bank.

Physical Planning Department (2012) ‘Report of the capacity needs assessment for
slum upgrading programme in Malawi, Lilongwe.

Ramirez, T. L., Cruz, L.T., & Alcantara, N. V. (2014). ‘Tracer Study of the RTU
Journal of Education and Society in Southern Africa, Vol.3 No.3 pp. 45-67, 2016
 Graduates: An Analysis. Journal of Arts, Science and Commerce, 5(1), 66-76.

Rasiah, R. R. V. (2009). The Changing Nature of Graduate Careers: Aligning

Curriculum Development to Industry Needs,’ Paper for the 9th Conference
on Business Economics; Cambridge (UK), 16-17 October.

Schomburg, H. (2003). Handbook for Graduate Tracer Studies. Published by

Deutsche Gesellschaftfür Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH &Centre for
Research on Higher Education and Work, University of Kassel, Germany.

Shongwe, M., & Ocholla, D. (2011). ‘A Tracer Study of LIS graduates at the University
of Zululand, 2000-2009,’ paper was presented at the 6th Biennial ProLISSA
Conference, Pretoria, 9-11th March 2011.

Ugwuonah G. E., & Omeje K. C.(1998). Final Report of Tracer Study Research Project
on Higher Education and Work. Institute for Development Studies, University
of Nigeria, Enugu Campus. Available at
http://www.aau.org/studyprogram/notpub/ugowomeje.pdf

UNESCO, (2012). Graduate Employability in Asia. Bangkok, UNESCO.

USAID (2014). African higher education: Opportunities for transformative change for
sustainable development. Washington, DC.

Vong, C. (2014). Royal University of Phnom Pehn Tracer Study Report: RUPP,
Quality Assurance Unit Royal University of Phnom Pehn Cambodia.

Watson, V., & Odendaal, N. 2012, Changing Planning Education in Africa: The Role
of the Association of African Planning Schools. Journal of Planning Education online
available at http//jpe.sagepub.com

World Bank (2010). The Education System in Malawi, Wold Bank Working Paper No.
182, Washington, D.C.

Zembere, S. N., & Chinyama, N. P. M. (1996). The University of Malawi Graduate

Tracer Study. University of Malawi. Blantyre. Available at
http://www.aau.org/studyprogram/notpub/ZEMBERE.pdf.

Journal of Education and Society in Southern Africa, Vol.3 No.3 pp. 45-67, 2016