The High Court of Malawi has dismissed an application by Pentecostal Life University Limited seeking permission to challenge its deregistration, ruling that the institution failed to demonstrate an arguable case for judicial review.

In a ruling delivered by Justice Howard Pemba on Se, the court found that the decision by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) and the Minister of Education to deregister the university was lawful, procedurally fair and reasonable.

The case stemmed from NCHE audits conducted in 2023 and 2025 which found the institution repeatedly failed to comply with minimum higher education standards, which led to its subsequent deregistration.

According to court records, the university admitted students without the required Malawi School Certificate of Education qualifications, employed academic staff whose qualifications were not recognised by NCHE, continued offering unaccredited programmes, and relied heavily on adjunct lecturers contrary to prescribed standards.

Records before the court showed that NCHE suspended the university's accreditation in April 2025 and ordered it to stop offering unregistered programmes. A follow-up verification later found little progress in addressing the shortcomings, leading to an interface hearing with the university's governing body in July 2025. The Minister of Education approved NCHE’s recommendation to deregister the institution in February 2026.

The university argued that the decision was irrational and that it had been denied a fair hearing because it was not specifically heard on the issue of deregistration.

However, the court rejected the argument, holding that the institution had been afforded opportunities to make both oral and written representations during the regulatory process.

The judge stated that the accreditation suspension, compliance audits and interface hearings formed part of a continuous process that ultimately led to deregistration.

Justice Pemba further ruled that the decision could not be considered unreasonable under the legal test established in the case, describing deregistration as a rational response to persistent regulatory breaches that threatened the integrity of higher education standards.

The court also expressed concern over what it described as material non-disclosure by the claimants during their initial ex-parte application, noting that the duty of utmost good faith applies in such proceedings.

Consequently, the court denied leave for judicial review and dismissed the application with costs, effectively upholding the university's deregistration.

Speaking to Zodiak, chancellor and founder of the university Professor Kingstone Ngwira said the board will not appeal against the ruling but seek new registration with NCHE.

He said NCHE already put a clause for registration in a letter about the deregistration, hence his decision to take that route.

“We have that clause in that letter. So, if you ask me what will be the next action, the next action is to apply for the registration of the university,” said Prof Ngwira, “Let’s not fight something that we think other people have already put their own thoughts on.”

He said the application will be done as soon as possible.

“I need to talk to my Council Chair, Professor Kanyama Phiri, and two council members, and then from there we will make a decision. The structure is there; the resources are still there.”