By Franklin Mtambalika

The Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resource (LUANAR) students’ union -Natural Resources Campus, says it 0is overwhelmed with requests from students who are in dire need of financial bail-out to pay tuition fees and accommodation among other expenses.

The union’s president Vitumbiko Chirwa told Zodiak Thursday that over 100 students from the university are in need of about K30 Million, to carter for their school fees and accommodation, urging well-wishers to come to their aid.

Close to half of the students according to Chirwa were affected by Cyclone Freddy.

“Currently 49 students have approached us that they are victims of Cyclone Freddy and need financial assistance, and over 50 have also registered with us as needy students and that they require financial bail-out to pay for tuition fees,” said Chirwa.

Chirwa added that, the union has organized a big-walk and a clean-up campaign in Lilongwe today Saturday, August 19, 2023, and they will later be hosting a cultural event next weekend at the campus as part of the activities lined up to raise the funds.

Civil Society Education Coalition (CSEC) Executive Director Benedicto Kondowe says lack of tuition fees remains a big challenge among students in the public universities. He has urged authorities to find sustainable ways of dealing with the situation.

Kondowe said; “The initiative speaks volumes of the country’s failure to have sustainable access to financial support to carter for their education, to the extent that the students are taking up the responsibility to look for alternative sources of such support”.

“It is high time universities instituted special departments to handle scholarships, loans and grants to help address such challenges, as is the case with South Africa and European countries”.  

Recently University of Malawi (UNIMA) and LUANAR increased fees from K420,000 to K600,000 per year for generic students, a development which has sparked debate in the country.