Bill sparks hope for quality higher education in Malawi

The Ministry of Education is optimistic that the Higher Education Overarching Bill will play a pivotal role in regulating and ensuring the quality of tertiary education in Malawi.

The bill is designed to ensure that higher education, whether in public or private institutions, meets the highest standards of quality.

Speaking at a Stakeholder’s Consultative Meeting in Dowa, Secretary for Education, Mangani Chilala Katundu, outlined the bill’s goals, including preventing students from enrolling in unaccredited programs, conducting audits on academic programs, and imposing penalties on those violating the bill’s provisions.

The consultative meeting saw key stakeholders including NCHE, Higher Education Students Loans and Grants Board (HESLGB) and Students Representatives from Malawian higher institutions among others participating.

On the gaps the bill will address, Katundu said the Act will among others refrain students from studying programs that are not accredited which will in turn help the ministry to conduct audits on the programs being implemented at the same time regulating and punishing those contravening the stipulates of the Act.

“Firstly, it will close the gap of having students studying in programs that are not accredited. Secondly, it will ensure that we conduct audits on programs that are being implemented so that we can regulate and close as well as fine those that are contravening the stipulates of this act,” he said.

He added that the bill will ensure that the National Council of Higher Education (NCHE) is empowered and positioned to effectively control higher education in Malawi at the same time dealing with the problem of giving education titles to individuals who did not undergo the required study as he said that the conduct will be criminalised.

Speaking earlier at the meeting, Director for Higher Education, Levis Eneya provided the background of the journey towards implementation of the bill which he said was done in three phases.

The first phase involved constitution of a Technical team in 2017 as well as development of a consultant tool. He added that the higher learning institutions in Malawi were also consulted at this phase.

During the second phase, NCHE submitted to the Ministry of Education in 2021, a technical team and Task Force was constituted and a roadmap drawn with the target that the bill should be tabled by February 2025.

The Deputy Vice Chancellor for Mzuzu University, Wapulumuka Mluwafu described the bill as extremely important as the country has seen an upsurge in the number of higher learning institutions as well as the number of University students hence the need for  regulation.

He therefore said the regulation will aid the students to access quality education equivalent to the money they pay at the same time gaining required skills enabling them to compete  both at  national and international level.

“It is extremely important because as a nation we have seen an increase in the institutions which are offering higher education and at the same time also the number of students that are going to universities and colleges has gone up. In that kind of situation we need to have some kind of regulation to make sure that the students, especially nowadays, get the value for their money,” he said.

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