Lack of fees threatens 18-year-old’s future
EIGHTEEN-year-old Allan Kumulinde, who was recently selected to study environmental science and technology at the Malawi Polytechnic in the University of Malawi, is on the verge of losing the place following failure by his guardian to raise K 275,000 for fees for the first year.
Allan’s uncle, George Mbewe, who last worked for Sunbird Mount Soche in Blantyre in 2007, said he cannot raise the amount and is, therefore, appealing for support.
“His selection into college on a government ticket came as a relief to us since we thought that government would be responsible for his fees but [this week] he called me while crying to inform me that despite being on government ticket, we still have to pay fees in full and that if that is not done in two weeks, he would be expelled,” explained Mbewe.
He added: “On Tuesday I made it a point to meet the Registrar who said Allan should pay school fees for the first year and later government will intervene or else he should reserve his space to enroll next year.”
Mbewe recalled that they also went through a torrid time to raise money for Allan’s secondary education at Zingwangwa Secondary School such that when he was in Form Four, he stayed for months out of school following failure to pay school fees.
“We were surprised that despite the challenges, he scored 17 points and when he applied for a place at college, he was among those who succeeded,” he said.
As if this was not enough, Mbewe said he had another rough patch with Allan’s brother, Ernest, who is at Zomba Catholic Secondary School for failing to pay K 235,000 for three terms.
“I had to negotiate for him to sit examinations and fortunately he was allowed,” Mbewe said.
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