Higher Education Systems and Institutions, Malawi

Historical Background

Malawi, a landlocked country in Central Eastern Africa, shares a common border with Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia. The colonial state that became Malawi at independence in 1964 was initially colonized in 1891 as the British Central Africa Protectorate until 1907 when the territory was re-named Nyasaland Protectorate.

The colonial government was headed by a Governor who chaired an executive council and a legislature which included three nominees drawn from white farmers, traders, and missionaries. Government departments were set up under directors, but issues of primary and secondary education for Africans were left in the hands of missionaries until the late 1940s when a separate department of African education was introduced. Throughout the colonial period, there were no institutions of higher learning in the country. The few students who qualified from schools operated by missionaries sought tertiary education opportunities outside the country.

After the...