Government nods to fee hike

Government has approved the proposal from The University of Malawi (Unima) for the upward adjustment of tuition fees for normal entry students across its four constituent colleges.

Last month, University of Malawi (Unima) sought government’s approval for the tuition fee hike for the students who will be admitted into the colleges for the 2016/2017 academic year.

However, Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Emmanuel Fabiano, said he could not comment on something he never received and referred us to the council on the matter.

“We don’t approve fees, fees issues are decided upon by the council. So you have to ask the council or the management we don’t issue those letters ourselves. The way we work in the academia is that; we only answer to something that we have, not what we hear from elsewhere, we don’t have the proposal so we don’t comment on such,” explained Fabiano.

According to offer letters from the Polytechnic and Chancellor College that we have seen contributions for tuition for the first year students will be at K380, 000 for Polytechnic students and K320,000 from K275, 000 for Chancellor College students per annum, however the fee is subject to revision anytime.

“The fee contribution will be paid in full during registration of the first semester or in two equal installments of K190, 000 at the beginning of each semester of an academic year,” reads the offer letter to a Polytechnic student.

University of Malawi spokesperson Peter Mitunda declined to comment on the issue saying he has to consult his colleagues who deal with such issues directly and that he would get back to us.

Meanwhile, Polytechnic Students Union (PSU) president, Frank Msiska, said he was not aware of the fee hike saying he was waiting for a communication of a meeting that happened between government and the University’s of Malawi Council that took place in Lilongwe on Wednesday last week.

“I haven’t received any communication to know what transpired in the meeting that happened in Lilongwe. In fact, we students are presenting a petition to Parliament pleading our case on the same issues of fees hike. I have no idea that the fee has already been hiked,” said Msiska.

Last month, Unima raised fees for mature entry students, a development that received a lot of opposition from various stakeholders including some education experts who argued that salaries and wages for most Malawians remain low.

A source from inside Unima revealed that normal entry scholars at Chancellor College will be required to pay K320, 000, Polytechnic students will be required to pay K380, 000, Kamuzu College of Nursing K340, 000 while College of Medicine scholars will be expected to pay K500, 000 per academic year.