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Table 7.2: Fields of Study (2008) Field of Study Education Commerce Social science Humanities Applied science Medicine Environmental science Nursing Engineering Science Agriculture Developmental studies ICT Built environment Health science Law Tourism Other Total
Public Institutions Enrollment % Distrib. 1,785 22.1 665 8.2 604 7.5 621 7.7 730 9.0 529 6.5 472 5.8 467 5.8 394 4.9 390 4.8 371 4.6 287 3.6 236 2.9 186 2.3 151 1.9 103 1.3 58 0.7 32 0.4 8,081 100.0
Private Institutions Enrollment % Distrib. 315 31.5 212 21.2 253 25.3 153 15.3 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 55 5.5 13 1.3 — — — — — — — — — — 1,001 100.0
Enrollment 2,097 877 857 774 730 529 472 467 394 390 371 342 249 186 151 103 58 32 9,079
Both Types % Distrib. 23.1 9.7 9.4 8.5 8.0 5.8 5.2 5.1 4.3 4.3 4.1 3.8 2.7 2.0 1.7 1.1 0.6 0.4 100.0
%Priv. 15.0 24.2 29.5 19.8 — — — — — — — 16.1 5.2 — — — — — 11.0
Source: Data from higher education institutions.
Trends in enrollment have changed since 2001, when enrollment in agriculture was second only to education. Agriculture is now in ninth position. Enrollment in agriculture at Bunda is also falling. The tracer study (Pfeiffer and Chiunda, 2008; see Appendix 9) revealed that agriculture graduates took longer than other graduates to secure employment and this may account for the field’s decrease in popularity. Engineering, Science, and ICT—which are necessary for the diversification of the economy—still have low enrollments. In fact, the number of students enrolling in engineering at the Polytechnic, and science at Chancellor College has changed little during the period under review. Engineering has actually seen a slow decline in enrollment. Given the importance the implementation of the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS) has placed in these fields, there is a need to examine the trends with a view to increasing enrollment in these important areas. A positive development is the increase in enrollment in applied science, medicine and environmental science. Enrollment in Applied Science at the Polytechnic has been increasing since 2003. Enrollments in Medicine have also been increasing over the same period. Tourism (which has the potential to improve that industry in Malawi) and health science were introduced in the last three years and have the potential to increase in enrollment. So far, there have been no graduates from these fields, so employability cannot yet be tested. Table 7.2 also shows the contribution of private universities to the programs they are offering. While most private universities indicated that education was one of their priorities during visits to the institutions, the table shows that their biggest contribution is to the social sciences. They currently contribute 15.0 percent to the total education enrollment.