Malawi is turning its universities into a potential source of foreign exchange, with public institutions being urged to look beyond the country’s borders for students who can bring in forex.
Minister of Education Bright Msaka made the call on Tuesday at the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS) in Blantyre, where six education institutions signed Public Sector Reforms contracts.
Msaka said universities should make international recruitment part of their plans as they work to become financially sustainable.
“As we commit to deliver our plans today as individual universities, let us have adverts that attract enrollment of students beyond our borders so that we can contribute in bringing in forex through education,” he said.
The minister said the reforms should go beyond administrative changes and result in better services and stronger institutions.
The contracts involve the University of Malawi (UNIMA), Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS), Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST), MUBAS, Malawi Institute of Education (MIE) and Malawi National Examinations Board (MANEB).
Msaka said the reforms are linked to the government’s wider development plans, including Malawi 2063, the Democratic Progressive Party manifesto, and the National Education Sector Investment Plan 2020–2030.
At MUBAS, Vice Chancellor Associate Professor Nancy Chitera outlined the university’s priorities under its Malawi 2063 Reform Programme for April 2026 to March 2028.
The plan includes agricultural mechanisation, industrialisation, human capital development, innovative financing, and improved governance.
To expand access to higher education, MUBAS plans to increase open, distance, and e-learning programmes, introduce a dual student intake, establish a campus in Mangochi, and complete its Lilongwe Campus at Nanjiri.
Chitera said the ministry has already approved the dual intake, which is expected to begin in January 2027.
The university is also pursuing projects aimed at increasing its own revenue.
These include fully operationalising its Agricultural Mechanisation Unit, which is expected to support local tractor production, as well as developing the MUBAS Industrial Park and commercial activities through MUBAS Commercial Limited.
By: Ben Bongololo
