BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: MEET THE FOUNDER OF IMMACULATA COLLEGE OF EDUCATION



Symphrosa Kanyanja Chomba (Mrs)
Written by Super User


My entire life has been centred on education, starting from the time I was trained as a teacher. During my career, I taught at many schools including heading the following schools; Chinsali Girls, Kasama Girls and Helen Kaunda Girls of Kitwe where I left remarkable improvements. As per tradition in the Ministry of Education, time came for me to be transferred to Kabwe, where I retired and currently settled with my family.
 With the passion to contribute to society and outstanding performance in my teaching career, I was persuaded to go into politics and contested a parliamentary seat which I unfortunately lost in the election. After failure to win the parliamentary seat where great expectations lay, I had nothing to do and almost became depressed. Later I started a small business but did not do much.
 In 1995, I went to Lusaka and learnt of the Future Search Entrepreneurship workshop starting at National Institute for Public Administration (NIPA) where its offices were located. I went and registered for the workshop. When the workshop started, the most challenging thing happened on the second day when we were all asked to start a business. Being a visitor I had no resources so it proved too difficult for me. However, I did not give up and thought of starting polishing shoes and making simple sausages. I did so well with the business creation exercise (BCE) that I even won a Second Prize at the end of the workshop.  After this training and with the influence of the Personal Entrepreneurial Competencies (PECs), my mind was opened. Using the PECs and my profession as an educationist, I got a one year contract at Nkrumah Teachers Training College as a Senior Lecturer which I never renewed because I saw no future in that work. Using the “PECs of Information seeking and Opportunity Seeking and Initiative”, I managed to secure three (3) years contract with YWCA as an Entrepreneurship Trainer. This programme was sponsored by the German Government for Kabwe townships and surrounding Peri-urban areas. At the end of the contract I was given only K184, 000.00 not rebased. That made me refuse to renew the contract when asked to. With this same money, my passion for contributing to the education sector was invoked. I therefore, rented an office at Chitanda House and started the business of conducting entrepreneurship training and other business courses with the initial number of six (6) students. Despite the low enrolment levels, I was not discouraged instead I used “persistence and other PECs”, to continue the business which eventually led to increased enrolment of students. Between 1999 and 2000, I surveyed the market and decided to start a Teacher’s Training College. I prepared the necessary paper work and registered the business of a college with a Catholic orientation by the name of Immaculata Teachers College. The enrolment increased which resulted in acquiring another lecture room at the same premises. At this time, we raised K4, 000.00 from the sale of application forms and bought tables and chairs for the college and recruited three teachers. The first 37 students in a 3 year course known as Zambia Basic Education Certificate (ZABEC) commenced. The fees paid by the students were used to pay teachers’ salaries. The demand increased and the need arose to move to a bigger training facility

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