University of Malawi
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| Established | 1964 |
|---|---|
| Vice-Chancellor | Professor John Saka |
| Location |
 Zomba, Malawi
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| Campus | Urban |
| Website | www.unima.mw |
The University of Malawi is an educational institution established in 1965 and composed of five constituent colleges located in Zomba, Blantyre, and Lilongwe. Of the five colleges, the largest is Chancellor College in Zomba. The name of the school is abbreviated to UNIMA. It is part of the Malawian government educational system. The present Vice Chancellor is Professor John Kalenga Saka. UNIMA celebrated its golden jubilee from the 24 to the 26 September 2015.
The vision of the University of Malawi is to provide "relevant, world-class education, research and services for the sustainable development of Malawi and the world."
The university is the center of knowledge, development of skills values, ideas and attitudes for engaging developmental challenges in the country.
The University of Malawi was founded a few months after Malawi Independence. The first enrollment consisted of 90 students in Blantyre. Teaching began in 1965 in Blantyre, and within two years the Institute of Public Administration at Mpemba, the Soche Hill College of Education and the Polytechnic in Blantyre, and Bunda College in Lilongwe became colleges of the university. In 1973, all the constituents of the university apart from the polytechnic and Bunda College moved to Zomba and were merged into Chancellor College. In 1979, Kamuzu College of Nursing became a college of the university, and in 1991 the College of Medicine in Blantyre was formed as a further constituent college.
During the movement towards multiparty rule, UNIMA students participated through a student protest. In March 1992, when Catholic Bishops in Malawi issued a Lenten Pastoral Letter that criticized Banda and his government, students of the University of Malawi at Chancellor College and the Polytechnic joined in through protests and demonstrations in support of the letter. This forced the authorities to close the campuses.
Youth for Freedom and Democracy (YFD) is a student political pressure group on campus. They publish the "Weekly Political Update" that is circulated to students on campus. They have been critical of Malawi's governance, and of the Paladin Energy mining company. In mid September, Malawian police arrested several members of the group. They also arrested 21-year-old Black Moses, president of the YFD and interrogated him. A week later, 25-year-old Robert Chasowa, a fourth-year engineering student at the Malawi Polytechnic was found dead. Police ruled this a suicide but critics believe that he was murdered.
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