The Government of Malawi has approved a 100 percent increase in annual tuition fees for public universities, sparking widespread public debate, according to Pan African Visions. The policy shift, signed by Secretary for Education Ken Ndala, aims to address a 40 to 60 percent funding deficit that has compromised infrastructure, laboratory equipment, and research quality across the higher education sector, Pan African Visions reports.
Under the new framework for the 2026/2027 academic year, baseline undergraduate fees at institutions including the University of Malawi (UNIMA), Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS), Mzuzu University (MZUNI), Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR), and the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) will double from K650,000 to K1.3 million, according to Pan African Visions. Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS) fees will also increase from K1 million to K2 million. The outlet notes that students are now required to pay an annual K60,000 medical insurance contribution. Furthermore, Pan African Visions reports that the Ministry of Education has granted universities the authority to implement automatic annual fee increases of up to 10 percent to counter inflation.
In other university news, recent LUANAR agriculture graduate Benjamin Mulumpwa is representing the institution at the 10th International Conference on Agricultural Statistics in Krakow, Poland, which runs until July 10, according to LUANAR's official news platform. The global conference, co-organized by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Bank, gathers experts to discuss agricultural data and evidence-based decision-making for sustainable food systems, the university reports.