US Government invests $17 million in Malawi’s higher education

The US government has shown its continued commitment to supporting the local education sector, through a 17 million dollar investment in promotion of higher education in Malawi.

The funds provided through the US Agency for International Development-(USAID) to be used in the next 5 years, fall under the Transforming Higher Education Systems project.

It is implemented by Michigan State University to help more students enrol in and complete higher education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

In a statement, the US Embassy in Lilongwe says through the project, USAID and partners will expand high-quality and market relevant university programs for students.

The new USAID project will partner with the Ministry of Education, three anchor universities Mzuzu University-MZUNI, MUST, and LUANAR and several other public and private colleges and universities.

It will also engage the National Council for Higher Education and the Higher Education Students’ Grants and Loans Board to expand pathways to access higher education.

This new partnership, comes amid implementation of another project in the sector called Secondary Education Expansion for Development (SEED), in which over 200 secondary schools are to be built across the country.

The SEED project aims at increasing enrolment at secondary level as currently other students are not selected into various secondary institutions due to limited space.

US Ambassador to Malawi David Young is optimistic that a significant number of vulnerable youth will benefit.

“This latest partnership with the Ministry of Education is a systems-wide approach that will remove barriers for marginalized and vulnerable youth and support students to thrive in the higher education system. Our investments will foster an enabling environment that helps youth build their own successful futures,” said Young.

USAID’s Transforming Higher Education Systems project is also expected to strengthen student support systems, increase experiential learning opportunities, and engage private sector actors through increased internship opportunities and research innovation.

Students from marginalized and vulnerable backgrounds throughout Malawi will benefit from the project.

It is anticipated that through this partnership, universities’ research capacities and outputs will increase to match the ambitions of Malawi 2063.

Young says their investments will foster an enabling environment that helps youth build their own successful futures.