Higher education gurus bang heads in Lilongwe

Malawi: Minister of Education, Agnes NyaLonje, on November 23, 2022, presided over the 3rd International Conference on Higher Education, which was organised by the Malawi Universities and Colleges Association (UCAM).

In an interview with AfricaBrief, the Education Minister stated that the conference is critical because it will provide a platform for public and private universities and colleges to interact and share various experiences, challenges, and solutions for better serving Malawians in order to achieve Malawi 2063.

She said: “It is no secret that many of our youth in Malawi believe that better education can be found in the public sector, but research has shown that most Malawians obtain their education through the private sector, and this conference will provide an opportunity for mindset change. It is very interesting to see two sides charged with the same task of imparting high education coming together to celebrate their accomplishments, share challenges, and map the way forward together.”

In his remarks, National Planning Commission Head Dr Thomas Munthali said that the National Planning Commission is working closely with the Ministries of Labour and Education to assess what skills Malawi requires so that our Malawi universities and training colleges can focus on those skills, and he described the Conference as a tool for both private and public universities and colleges to interact for the benefit of Malawians and to come up with solutions.

The UCAM is hosting the three-day conference with the theme Universities and Colleges as Drivers of Knowledge-Based Economy in Malawi 2063.

The Conference is being held at the Malawi Institute of Management in Lilongwe, and some higher education institutions from outside Malawi are attending.