Reserve Bank of Malawi job advert sparks backlash over degree requirement for messenger post

An advert for two messenger positions at the Reserve Bank of Malawi has provoked a wave of criticism after it emerged that the bank had set a bachelor’s degree as the minimum qualification for the roles.

The advert, which circulated widely on social media, drew ridicule and pointed questions from Malawians who argued that a university degree was an unusually high bar for a job traditionally associated with basic literacy and reliability rather than academic qualifications.

Critics online questioned why the central bank would require graduate-level education for entry-level support roles, with many suggesting the requirement reflected a mismatch between job descriptions and the realities of Malawi’s labour market, where thousands of degree-holders already struggle to find work matching their qualifications.

The controversy taps into a broader, recurring frustration in Malawi: graduates competing for jobs that once required only secondary education, even as unemployment among degree-holders remains a persistent concern.

For some commentators, the RBM advert became a symbol of that wider mismatch — evidence, they argued, of qualification inflation creeping into roles where it serves little practical purpose.

The Reserve Bank has not issued a public response to the criticism.

It remains unclear whether the qualification requirement will be revised, or whether the bank will clarify the rationale behind it.