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Malawi by Joseph P.A. Chimombo Introduction
Population census in 1998 indicated that Malawi had 9.8 million people. The country has two universities, University of Malawi (UNIMA) and Mzuzu University which has only recently been opened.History of Higher Education
Following a recommendation of the American Council on Education in 1963, Malawi’s parliament passed the University of Malawi Act in October that year. Teaching at the new university started on the Chichiri campus in September 1965 (UNIMA).UNIMA started with 5 institutions: Bunda College of Agriculture, Chancellor College, Institute of Public Administration, Soche Hill College of Education, and the Malawi Polytechnic. Soche Hill College and the Institute of Public Administration were amalgamated when Chancellor College moved to Zomba in 1973. With time, the 3 colleges, Bunda, Chancellor, and the Polytechnic, expanded in both program and infrastructure. A fourth college, the Kamuzu College of Nursing, was added in 1979 to train nurses and more recently, in 1995, the College of Medicine has been added to UNIMA for the training of doctors.
Enrollment
University education in Malawi is extremely competitive due to the very limited places offered to qualifying students each year. Tertiary education admits a very small proportion of the eligible school population. Only a total of about 1,000 places are offered every year at the 5 constituent colleges of the UNIMA, for example. The 7,500 places available in all tertiary institutions only represented a mere 0.3% of the total number of students enrolled at all levels of education. The actual Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) has stagnated at 0.5% of the appropriate age group.Governance and Administration
UNIMA's internal organization is characterized by a federal structure composed of 5 constituent colleges headed by a principal who is assisted by a vice-principal, a registrar, a bursar, deans, and a librarian.The central administration (popularly known as the University Office) is located in Zomba and is headed by the vice-chancellor. The highest body is the University Council, which provides overall policy guidance to UNAMI.
Gender
Currently, the percentage of females being selected for university education is only about 25%. The current selection policy, which does not use a quota system, at least for the districts, but only considers academic performance, mainly on the MSCE results, may not result in equitable distribution of these positions. This policy may tend to favor one or more groups of students. Although there is an affirmative selection policy for women, its results need to be examined since so few women are receiving university education. Recent initiatives to increase the proportion of women are welcomed.Funding and Resources
The competition for dwindling resources has intensified by the opening of the Mzuzu University. The financial crisis facing the higher education sector manifests itself in the declining relevance and quality of education and research. Malawi’s decision to share the costs of higher education with the students was made in 1985 in response to the World Bank’s conditionality for an education credit. It was not surprising, therefore, that UNIMA, in collaboration with Malawi’s government, raised the student contribution from about $40 to $575 at the beginning of the 2001 academic year, representing an increase of 1500%. Fellowship to students constitutes 12.3% of public expenditure on higher education. This is the highest expense after salaries (at 37.7%).Research and Publishing
A significant amount of higher education research in UNIMA is practical, that seeks to transform teaching. Allocation to research has also been severely cut in recent times. In 1999, for example, only 0.7% of the UNAMI budget was allocated to research and publications.Note: For detailed account on the state of higher education in Malawi, please consult: Joseph P.A. Chimombo, African Higher Education: An International Reference Handbook (Damtew Teferra and Philip. G. Altbach, eds., Indiana University Press, 2003), pp. 414-422.
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