As the Government of Malawi investigates options to expand access to higher education andimprove the quality of higher education provision, the objective of this report is to contribute to animproved understanding of the challenges confronted by the higher education sub-sector in Malawi.The report summarizes the key findings of an in-depth study of factors affecting access and equityin the Malawian higher education sub-sector, the quality and relevance of educational outputs, thefinancing of the sector, and the frameworks structuring governance of the sector and itsmanagement.The study was initiated in response to a request from the Government of Malawi, to the World Bank, to support the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (Mo EST) in its pursuit offinancially sustainable policy options to increase equitable access to higher education, and toimprove the quality of higher education provision in alignment with the needs of the labor market.