New higher education project to increase access to Stem
The Ministry of Education has launched a new United States Agency for International Development (USAid)-funded Transforming Higher Education Systems (Thes) project to help more students enrol and complete higher education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) programmes.
Speaking in Lilongwe on Wednesday during the launch, Deputy Minister of Education Nancy Chaola Mdooko said the project will complement the Malawi Vision 2063 (MW2063) which recognises human capital development as a key enabler to realising the country’s development aspirations.
She said: “This project resonates well with the Malawi 2063 Agenda which also looks at developing our youths for better participation in the country’s development. Through the Thes project, we have a duty to create a progressive citizenry capable of desiring, envisioning and constructing a future that is better and more inclusive than the past through improved youth skills in line with the MW2063.”
In his remarks, US Ambassador David Young said the Thes project exemplifies the US Government’s commitment to support Malawi in becoming a self-reliant, resilient and inclusive nation.
He said a large part of the project will go toward making college and university more accessible to under-represented youth, including young women and adolescent girls, students with disabilities, students from community day secondary schools, rural areas and economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Said Young: “The US Government strongly believes in the importance of investing in this next generation. This is why we are investing $17 million, or about K18 billion, into this project which builds upon USAid’s long-term support to higher education in Malawi and emphasises our commitment to strengthening higher education as key to bolstering Malawi’s economy.”
He said USAid has teamed up with Michigan State University, to work with the Ministry of Education and other partners in implementing the project.
Director of higher education Levis Keliyasi Eneya said the project will transform the higher education system by tackling shared grand challenges that have been identified across institutions, including challenges in the areas of Stem teaching and learning, market relevance of the country’s university programmes, student protection systems and policy environment for research and innovation.
He said: “For a true systems change, systems-level challenges require joint efforts by multiple stakeholders. This is where the Thes project is coming in. My ministry will support the project by, among others, giving direction in its implementation and utilising our convening power to bring together key system actors and nurture the type of broad and inclusive conversations necessary for addressing issues in the higher education ecosystem.”
The Thes project is a consortium of 10 public and private universities, namely Malawi University of Science and Technology, Mzuzu University, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Malawi, the Catholic University of Malawi, Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences, University of Livingstonia, Malawi Adventist University, DMI, and Malawi Assemblies of God University.
The universities will partner with seven system level partners, namely the Ministry of Education, National Planning Commission, National Commission for Science and Technology, Malawi National Examinations Board, Higher Education Students Loans and Grants Board, Universities and Colleges Association of Malawi and the National Council of Higher Education.
According to information on the USAid website, the project will run for the next five years to expand high-quality, market relevant university programmes for students and boost the ability of Malawian universities to advance innovation, productivity and competitiveness of Malawian industry.
