Malawian education unions have formally urged the government to increase public education funding and improve teachers' working conditions, according to a Tuesday report by Education International. Presenting a country report at a sub-regional workshop, the Teachers Union of Malawi and the Private Schools Employees Union of Malawi highlighted severe teacher shortages, delayed salary payments, and underdeveloped school infrastructure. The unions noted that these challenges are being actively worsened by high inflation, foreign exchange shortages, and rapidly growing student enrollment.
In higher education news, CDH Investment Bank has committed over K19 million to support the Falling Walls Foundation, an innovation hub based at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR). Nyasa Times reports that the funding aims to help students create sustainable solutions to national challenges. As part of the initiative, LUANAR biotechnology graduate Lameck Jailosi has been selected to pitch his innovation at a global interdisciplinary competition in Berlin, Germany.
At the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS), well-wishers have stepped in to clear a K402,000 tuition deficit for third-year Business Studies and Computer Science student Bornwell Paul. According to Malawi24, the student had previously sold his personal computer to raise partial funds after failing to secure a loan from the Higher Education Students' Loans and Grants Board. The university issued a receipt confirming his fees have now been fully settled, allowing him to register for the new semester uninterrupted.
Meanwhile, the University of Malawi (UNIMA) School of Education has announced its latest intake of post-graduate education students. According to a university statement released on Tuesday, successful candidates have been officially admitted into both the University Certificate of Education and the Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Teaching programmes for the new academic year.