Students’ stationery allowance haunts MCHS
Some students from Malawi College of Health Sciences (MCHS) have complained about failure by the college authorities to give them their stationery allowance for two consecutive years.
According to the students who spoke on condition of anonymity, authorities at the college have not been able to pay their allowance of K10,000 each, annually.
The students said they are struggling to provide for their stationery since the college says it does not have funds for the allowances but only to train them.
MCHS Executive Director Tannach Masache confirmed the development and said the college currently is financially handicapped.
Masache has attributed the development to the current fee structure which he said has not been revised for four consecutive years and has greatly affected the cost of training the students.
“It is true that we have not paid stationery allowance for the second and third year students due to some problems with financial resources. The main reason is that the fees for the students have not been revised for the past four years but the cost of training students have gone up. We are required to pay the stationery allowance within the same fees that have been the same for the past four years.”
He, however, said the college is putting in place measures to settle the outstanding allowances for all students.
“We are trying to work out so that the outstanding stationery allowance should be paid. We will be meeting the Students Union soon and among the issue to be discussed is the stationery allowance,” he said.
Students studying at the college under government scholarship are paying K100,000 as a financial contribution annually.
A vibrant writer who gives a great insight on hot topics and issues
