Malawi - Higher Education

All higher education in Malawi is ultimately controlled by the University of Malawi, which was founded in 1964. The university is located in Zomba, Malawi's former capital, which is now a university town. The vice chancellor and registrar run the university. The president is the chancellor, which is purely a ceremonial office. There are four constituent colleges, each of which has its own registrar. Bunda College specializes in agriculture; Chancellor College offers arts, education, sciences, social sciences, law, and public administration; Kamuzu College offers nursing, community health, mental health, maternal and child health care, and medical surgical nursing courses; and the Polytechnic College offers technical courses. The university also operates a hotel training college and a marine-training school. The university is governed by a council, whose members are appointed by the government. The faculty senate insures that academic matters are governed by professors. The university awards both degrees and diplomas, as well as certificates for short courses. Government grants pay for 91 percent of university costs and miscellaneous income accounts for the remaining 9 percent of the university's income.

Access to higher education is based on passing the Malawi Certificate of Education (MCE). A student must earn at least five credits, including English. This exam may be taken after completing eight years of primary and four years of secondary education. Students wishing to be accepted by the university must achieve excellent scores on these exams.

The first or bachelor's degree is normally earned after four years of concentrated study in residence. It takes five years to complete courses in law, education, agriculture, and commerce and six years to finish the full engineering program. Honors degrees are awarded in some subjects. A professional qualification is awarded as a diploma after three years of study.

A second stage or master's degree requires two years of full time study to complete. A third stage or doctorate degree is awarded after finishing three to five years of study beyond the master's degree, a successful defense of a thesis or dissertation, and at least six months in residence at the university

In 1990, approximately 4,829 students enrolled in universities in Malawi. Of these 26 percent or 1,352 students were females. In 1994, some 5,358 students were enrolled, and 30 percent were females. By 1996, there were 5,561 students enrolled in universities in Malawi, and the percentage of females held constant at 30 percent. As of 2000, only 1 percent of Malawi's population was enrolled in universities. Approximately 72 percent of all college students were pursuing degrees in education, 10.9 percent were taking degrees in the social sciences, 12.2 percent were pursuing science degrees, 3.9 percent were taking degrees in medicine, and 0.4 percent were pursuing degrees in the humanities. Given Malawi's growing need for high-powered labor, Malawi will be dependent on expatriate skilled labor far into the foreseeable future, unless the university system expands.