My Turn

Unima fee hike: Rethink PPP

Now that it is a reality that from the next academic calendar, undergraduate students with the University of Malawi (Unima) will be paying K275 000 (US$667) in fees, up from the previous K55 000 (US$133) per year, I believe it is neither time for whining nor throwing stones at the government, but rather reflecting and considering cushioning measures that would enable the “needy” students to attend the public institution. Before putting those considerations into perspective, let us look at two cases from our neighbours, Tanzania and Zambia.

I will refer to Tanzania wholesomely but for Zambia, I will refer to the University of Zambia (Unza) for illustration and the reasons will be noted as we go along.

Tanzania is a good example of a developing country that has made progressive inroads into pro-poor policies with regards to tertiary education. As part of implementation of the national higher education policy, the Tanzanian government set up a Higher Education Student’s Loans Board (HESLB) which commenced operations in 2005. This board issues loans to students pursuing advanced/higher diplomas and degree studies at accredited institutions in and outside the country and to collect repayment for all loans issued to students since 1994, so far as to make the scheme successful and sustainable. Before we proceed, please note that the loans are accessible to any needy Tanzanian national wishing to attend “any accredited institution” of higher learning; which means even those admitted to private universities or colleges of their choice but need governmental support.

The criteria for being a “needy” applicant means you have to fit into a category of a poor orphan who has lost both parents, a poor applicant with disability or with a disabled parent/s, one who has lost one parent or from a poor family. Additionally, the Tanzanian HESLB provides loans according to national priority programmes that include education science and mathematics, engineering, natural sciences, health and animal sciences. That notwithstanding, other eligible students in other fields of study are also able to obtain loans. Mind you, these are loans, and the mechanism set up is so solid that they are recovered from the day the recipient gets “into the world” as we call it, in other words, when one secures employment. The recovery mechanism starts from the structures that are put in place at the day of application, but are lengthy to accommodate a detailed explanation in this article. But in our Malawian case, as an example, they even go as far as involving your ward councillor and village chief. Now, let us take a look at Unza.

Unza has similarities to those of Tanzania in that government provides financial support to needy students and they vary according the level of the “need”.  One could get a 100 percent government bursary if eligible through a means testing process or could get 25 percent. Please note that the fees also vary according to disciplines; for instance, engineering or chemistry students pay more fees than those in humanities and this is the case worldwide. To use our case, the Government of Malawi could provide a loan or bursary to someone befitting the criteria of being a needy student with the entire K275 000 while someone else only gets K50 000, others none at all. One noticeable feature in the Unza case is that multiple organisations ranging from NGOs, trusts, telecoms and the banking sector, among others, provide full scholarships to some needy students as soon as they are selected. This is where I would like us to further reflect on.

Yes, we have observed over the years the so-called corporate social responsibility from the private sector towards the tertiary institutions in form of awards or infrastructure, which are realistically public relations stunts. But why can’t private sector institutions set up scholarship schemes for needy students from the onset, particularly in their related fields? Would that not be taking a share in pro-poor governance policies with the government? Would that not be a form of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) we all strive to attain with the ultimate aim of uplifting our living standards after 50 years of “colonial” independence through an investment in tertiary education? n

The author is a PhD student in the Department of Journalism at Stellenbosch University and a lecturer in media, communication and cultural studies at Chancellor College.

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