Malawi: Malawi Parliament Committee Flags Funding Gaps At Public Universities, Calls for Increased Subventions

Malawi's Parliamentary Committee on Education, Science and Technology has called for increased government subventions to public universities, warning that persistent underfunding is undermining the quality of higher education across the country.

In a report presented to Parliament on Wednesday by chairperson Mutani Elliam Tambala, the committee said inadequate funding, infrastructure deficits, staffing shortages, procurement delays and limited student accommodation continue to constrain the growth and effectiveness of public universities.

"These challenges, if not addressed urgently, have the potential to undermine government's efforts to expand access to quality higher education and achieve the aspirations of Malawi 2063," the report states.

The findings follow engagements the committee held with universities to assess their performance and identify the key obstacles affecting their operations.

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The committee called on government, development partners, the private sector and other stakeholders to work together to address the challenges, arguing that funding for higher education should be treated as an investment rather than a cost.

"Increased investment in higher education should not be viewed as consumption expenditure, but rather as a strategic investment in Malawi's future economic growth, industrialisation, innovation, and national development," the report says.

Despite the challenges, the committee said public universities remain central to Malawi's social and economic transformation through higher education, research, innovation and human capital development.

It highlighted encouraging progress in research, innovation, industrialisation and infrastructure development across institutions, pointing to the establishment of innovation hubs, agricultural mechanisation initiatives, pharmaceutical manufacturing projects and specialised teaching facilities.

"The committee will continue to monitor the implementation of these positive developments and expects the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the respective institutions to provide periodic updates on further progress being made," the report adds.

As part of its assessment, the committee engaged with the University of Malawi (UNIMA), Mzuzu University (MZUNI), the Mombera University construction site, the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS), Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS) and the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST).

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The visits were also intended to give the committee a clearer picture of ongoing development projects and how institutional programmes align with national development priorities, including Malawi 2063.