In July 1994, after the government had studied the problems inherent in the delivery of tertiary education in the country, the former President of The Republic of Malawi, His Excellency Dr. Bakili Muluzi, decided that a new University should be established and that it should be located in the Northern Region. Thereafter, the President appointed the Commission for the Establishment of the University in the North (COMESUN) and directed the commissioners to gather the opinions of a cross-section of the Malawian population in the three regions on the feasibility, practicality and viability of establishing such an institution.The commission heard views from politicians, traditional and religious leaders, academicians, professional experts, government officials and the ordinary people in the rural areas