Malawian clerics have embarked on a last-minute attempt to stop a controversial university quota system from taking effect. Planned demonstrations were blocked by the police who said they were illegal, but a petition was sent to President Bingu Wa Mutharika urging him to annul the system that directs university entry to be based on place of origin and not on merit.

The petition described the quota system as divisive and was also read out in Malawian churches earlier this month.

The quota was first outlawed by Malawi's High Court in 1993 on grounds it was discriminatory. The policy was blocked again by the court in 2008 after disgruntled students mounted a legal challenge against another government attempt to introduce it.

Despite the court rulings, the government last year directed quotas to be reintroduced with effect from this month. The system has been widened to cover not only university students but also pupils going into secondary school - the stepping stone to higher education.

The controversial quota policy is aimed at discouraging a trend under the merit system that saw Malawians from the north entering higher learning institutions in greater numbers than their compatriots from the south. Now universities will have to admit set numbers of students based on district and regional quotas.

In the petition to Wa Mutharika, the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian Synod of Livingstonia - which has roots in Malawi dating back to 1875 with the arrival of Scottish missionaries - said good governance and respect for the rule of law were critical to political, economic and social development. The church said if there were disparities in access to education, the best solution would be for the government to build more schools and universities.

It said identifying people by district or region of origin was a discriminatory policy that could breed resentment and hatred among different groups of people, with potentially tragic consequences such as what happened in Sri-Lanka, Sierra Leone, Malaysia and Rwanda where the genesis of conflict was discriminatory policies involving a quota system of some kind.

The synod said although quota systems had been implemented in some European countries, they were aimed at balancing the rich and the poor and were not based on place of origin. Nor should Malawi's policy be compared to affirmative action applied to girls in accessing higher education, which addresses the cultural perceptions that people have regarding girls in education.

At an emergency meeting held on 30 December, the Synod of Livingstonia concluded that reintroducing a policy that was outlawed by the legal system constituted contempt of court. It also contradicted several international human rights instruments the Malawi government has ratified, which "place an obligation on states to provide equitable access to education for all without discrimination", according to the petition.

The petition said people living in Northern Malawi were a minority group, constituting 12% of the population. So the quota system also violated the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious or Linguistic Minorities.

The quota issue has divided the country, with leading figures such as the President and University of Malawi lecturer Tetelite Lipenga supporting and other leaders opposing it. The government has become aggressive towards opponents.

According to the church petition, Synod of Livingstone Reverend Maurice Munthali was recently barred from entering State House where inter-denominational prayers for earthquake victims were being held. There have also been 'recent attacks' on the personality of Moderator of the Synod Reverend Mezuwa Banda for speaking out against the system.

On 13 December, University World News reported that Harry Mkandawire, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party director of political affairs and governor of Northern province - who wrote a critical open letter to a newspaper questioning the President's endorsement of the system - was arrested for sedition, with critics blaming the arrest on the criticism.

Malawi's opposition Forum for New Direction is now campaigning along regional lines, urging northerners not to support Wa Mutharika and his political party.


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