Grant puts Malawi students in universities

Gifted students in Malawi are being supported by a grant from Scotland to study at university.

Pupils from Malawi will have the chance to study at a Scottish university. Picture: Louise Gray

A total of £100,000 is being spent on the scheme across 11 higher education institutions in the south-east African nation which has the lowest university enrolment rate in the world at just 0.05%.

The Scotland Malawi Partnership, funded by the Scottish Government, awarded 35 scholarships for young and underprivileged Malawian students to study at masters level.

International Development Minister Humza Yousaf said: “When we hear about the adversity that so many young people in Malawi face and the obstacles they encounter every day just trying to get an education it is clear that we must do all that we can to help.

Partnership

“That’s why I’m very pleased to award these 35 scholarships so that this group of Malawian students can study within their own country and realise their full potential.

“In this bicentenary year of the birth of Scottish missionary, medic and explorer Dr David Livingstone, and in light of our enduring relationship with Malawi, these scholarships further strengthen the links between our two countries working in partnership to achieve real and tangible outcomes in Malawi.”

Dr Jack Thompson, a partnership trustee and former vice-chancellor of University of Livingstonia in Malawi, said: “Since one of the criteria for selection was relevance to the Malawi government’s development goals, the scholarships should enable the successful applicants to make a meaningful contribution to Malawi’s future and hopefully further strengthen educational links between Scotland and Malawi.”

The grant is a “gesture of true friendship”, according to professor Dixie Maluwa Banda, director of education in the government of Malawi.