President Peter Mutharika has assented to a bill which was passed in parliament unbundling the University of Malawi (Unima).

State House Director of Communications Bright Molande has confirmed saying the Mutharika has endorsed creation of new universities.

“The target by the government is to create more space for more students to access tertiary education,” Molande said.

He further said that Mutharika’s decision to approve the split of Unima would change the landscape of university in Malawi.

“This is a move in the right direction to promote tertiary education in the country,” he said.

Education activists have described the restructuring of Unima as a significant in enhancing educational growth.

However, activists have also suggested that Unima council and National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) need to merge into one policy oversight institution that would work with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.

Commenting on the matter, Benedict Kondowe said unbundling of Unima would help in dealing with persistent problems such as lack of harmonization of university calendars and frequent closures of universities due to student riots and staff strikes.

Malawi Polytechnic will now be called Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences, College of Medicine and Kamuzu College of Nursing have been combined and will be called Malawi University of Health Sciences and Chancellor College will be University of Malawi.