Expanding access to vital skills for healthy economy

Public universities and technical colleges are frantically expanding their skills development space to increase enrolment.

The Skills for A Vibrant Economy (Save) Project, funded by the World Bank, is supporting the higher education institutions to  wear new faces with the modern facilities taking shape.

The project is designed to address Malawi’s low tertiary education intake partly driven by the lack of space in universities and technical colleges.

Secretary for Education Mangani Katundu says momentum is building in the country since the onset of the Save Project.

Gazing at the 3D designs of structures to be constructed in public universities and technical colleges nationwide, he said: “The infrastructures we are building in Malawi are not magazine pictures that one sees in Japan or America.

“Higher learning institutions will not only wear modern faces but will also increase enrolment in degree, diploma and certificate programmes in targeted priority sectors of the economy.”

Katundu was speaking recently in Lilongwe when welcoming a four-member World Bank Implementation Support Mission tracking progress of the Save Project.

The Save Project rolled out in October 2021 with $100 million (about K180 billion) funding from the bank. Half of the funding is a grant and the other half a loan.

Since then, construction tenders have been floated, bids evaluated and contracts awarded. The 3D models showing what the buildings will look like have also been designed and presented.

Save Project engineer Luckson Ngalu says the protracted processes at each construction phase must come with an environmental and social management plan approved by the World Bank.

“Depending on where the building is going to be constructed, the design has to be approved by the respective district or city council,” he explained.

The Save Project is primed to stimulate the economy through developing skills in young people to feed into targeted priority sectors.

The sectors include agriculture, tourism, transport, logistics, information and communication technology (ICT) and digital development, manufacturing, construction, energy, mining, climate resilience, and financial services.

The Government of Malawi is implementing the project through the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labour.

The project targets some 45 000 students in public universities, national technical colleges and open-distance electronic learning (ODeL) institutions, particularly targeting female students. 

“The population should benefit and wealth creation should be real,” Katundu said. “We need to ensure that the objective we set out is achieved.”

Although access to tertiary education has recently been increasing, enrolment rates in Malawi are among the lowest in the world.

According to the World Bank, enrolment in public higher education institutions increased from 25 000 to 30 975 between 2017 and 2018.

Access to formal technical, entrepreneurial and vocational education and training (Tevet) programmes also increased rapidly with latest enrolment figures estimated to reach over 18300 students.

Still, this represents less than one percent of the relevant age group, which compares unfavourably with regional and low-income country averages.

An International Labour Organisation (ILO) report said recently that there is still lack of workforce skills in key sectors of the economy which are critical to improving productivity, income, and jobs, particularly for youth and females.

Most employed Malawians are under-qualified for their jobs, with the situation worse than other countries with comparable data, says the report.

The report shows that for more than 13 000 young Malawians who applied for Tevet admission in 2019 only 2 065 enrolled due to lack of infrastructure, equipment and facilities nationwide.

This remains a barrier to increasing tertiary education places in Malawi.

In preparation for the upsurge in enrolment, the Save Project targets over 65 000 Tevet students through bursaries.

It will also support 900 trainers, lecturers and staff in Tevet institutions and public universities to upgrade their qualifications.

Over 110 000 secondary education graduates and over 300 private sector firms and industry in priority sectors are also targeted.

“The possibilities we are going to see do not apply only to students but also to lecturers,” Katundu said.

Staff from over 50 colleges and government ministries, departments and agencies will benefit.

They include regulators such as the National Council for Higher Education, Tevet Authority and Higher Education Students Loans Governance Board.

After the assessment tour, the World Bank mission said they were impressed by the steady progress of the Save Project.

“There has been notable increased enrolment in priority supported areas of study,” the bank said in its assessment report.

The report shows that female student enrolment has [also] increased by 4 767 from the baseline “but needs to be accelerated to meet targets.”

The World Bank adds that ODeL enrolment has also increased and was expected to meet targets once all universities and Tevet rollout.