Students hoping for more places in public universities will have to wait longer after government admitted it has no money to begin constructing three promised institutions.
Education Minister Bright Msaka told Parliament that the planned University of Marine Biology in Mangochi, Bangula University in Nsanje, and the University of Nkhotakota will not be built until government secures adequate funding.
Msaka said his Ministry has a policy to increase access to higher education through the construction of new universities and expansion of existing ones. However, he noted that financial constraints are hindering the implementation of these targets.
He was responding to a question from Nsanje Lalanje legislator, Bilal Abdul Karim, in Parliament in Lilongwe on Thursday. Karim wanted to know if government still intends to proceed with the construction of Bangula University, which was earmarked in the 2019 DPP manifesto.
Msaka said the current administration remains committed to fulfilling manifesto targets. He added that the Public Universities Working Committee has already identified Nyanthani and Makwale as potential sites for the construction of Bangula University.
The Minister further noted that the idea of specialized universities dates back to 2010 when the late President Bingu wa Mutharika proposed that new universities should focus on one of the country’s nine development priorities.
He said Bangula University is earmarked to specialize in cotton research and water management.
Other universities under the plan were the the Malawi University of Science and Technology in Thyolo which is up and running, the University of Marine Biology in Mangochi, Bangula University in Nsanje, the University of Nkhotakota, and Mombera University in Mzimba currently under progress.
Commenting on the matter, Nsanje Central Member of Parliament Francis Kasaila urged the Minister to secure the identified sites for Bangula University, warning that delays could lead to encroachment due to the area’s growing population, and by the time funding is available, the land may no longer be available.
