The issue of possible provision of prisoners’ conjugal rights in jurisdictions not yet allowing them, such as Malawi, is still an intricate debate amongst the stakeholders. However, the most important stakeholder in the issue, the prisoner, is usually left out of the discourse. This study analyzed the perceptions of randomly sampled 305 prisoners on conjugal visits at one of the central prisons in Malawi. Both qualitative and quantitative data from prisoners’ perceptions were collected and used concurrently. The key finding was that prisoners (male and female) in Malawi generally had positive perceptions regarding conjugal visits since more than 80% of the respondents (n=305) reported that conjugal visits were good and recommended their possible introduction in Malawi. These incarcerated persons opined that conjugal visits reduced problems of homosexuality, sexual assaults, physical violence in prisons, supporting prisoners’ rehabilitation and reintegration efforts as well as helping prisoners in preserving and establishing family ties. Prisoners also viewed conjugal visits as another way of dealing with the HIV and AIDS problem in Malawi prisons. Though the potential challenge was reported to be its costs, it was opined that the programme was still worthy of introducing. It was therefore concluded that the prisoners’ voice is also valuable in not only conjugal visits discourse but also in all issues related to law and policy that concern them.

In most normal universities in China, Confucian lessons are included in the international students study programs. This is because Confucianism is the most prevalent deep rooted historical philosophy in China. It is based on the teachings of Confucius (551-479 B.C.), a virtuous man who never wanted to be associated with insincerity, immorality and corruption. Though he failed to implement his ideas when he was alive, he lived forever and became "a king without a crown" when his principles were accepted and implemented by Chinese authorities many hundred years later, which has partly contributed to the current socioeconomic landscape of China. In contrast, Africa continues to face a lot of challenges chiefly caused by moral degradation and poverty. Do Confucian lessons have an impact on the African students who study them? This paper qualitatively analyzed the views of ten former African students in China regarding Confucius and his philosophies and their reflections on how Africans can benefit from the ideas and philosophies of this Great Sage. The key finding was that the majority of respondents acknowledged that they indeed took home a lot of lessons from their studies regarding Confucius and his philosophies. It was also noted that Confucius studies made the majority of these foreign students to understand the values of selflessness and virtuous life in leadership as well as the importance of expanding access of education for the benefit of all people. Africa can surely develop if leaders tap lessons from these kinds of philosophies.

This article analyses the perceptions of various stakeholders regarding their views on how accreditation issues were affecting private universities’ operations in Malawi. The article was based on a study that was conducted at six private universities in Malawi using a mixed methods research approach, utilising a descriptive survey research design. It involved a total of 152 respondents comprising of registrars, heads of departments, teachers and students from the targeted private universities, as well as public and private sectors executives in the country. This study revealed that the majority of the respondents were of the view that Malawi National Council for Higher Education was doing a commendable job in providing the needed monitoring and evaluation of higher education institutions and their respective study programmes in Malawi. It was also revealed that the action of being discredited or deregistered had a very big impact on the reputation of the concerned universities, students and the already produced graduates, hence the visits by NCHE officials created tension at the institutions. Nevertheless, the study concluded that the accreditation of institutions of higher learning and their study programmes was the only way to go in enhancing and controlling the quality of higher education in Malawi since there is no alternative to strict compliance to high standards. The need for revision of the higher education policies and laws in the country to strongly discourage the operation of the institution prior to their registration and accreditation by NCHE is strongly recommended.

Conjugal rights issue in prisons is indeed an old debate. This article reviewed the literature on the genesis of prisoners’ conjugal visits programme, its global prevalence and the scholarly debate for and against its provision to understand if it can be a rehabilitation option in African countries’ prisons. It has been noted that conjugal visits programme was haphazardly started in the 1900s in Mississippi before becoming an official programme in 1989. Though they were discontinued later in 2014 in Mississippi, conjugal visits are still provided in many penitentiary facilities in America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Studies have revealed that conjugal visits are capable of reducing the problems of homosexuality, sexual assaults and physical violence in prisons. It has also been observed that, apart from the fact that denial of conjugal rights to the prisoners’ spouse could be a form of punishment to innocent victims, conjugal visits can be incentives for good prisoners’ behaviour and rehabilitation in prisons. However, apart from the fact the programme is likely to be expensive and costly to African countries whom their general strife is prisoners’ overcrowding, most of the arguments against conjugal visits are moral-based such as that the programme is likely to perpetrate one-parent family system and is prone to abuse by both prisoners and prison staff. It has, therefore, been concluded that it cannot hurt anybody if legally married prisoners and their spouses are provided with a right to enjoy conjugal visits especially in those jurisdictions which have embraced rehabilitation philosophy.

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