29 000 students fail to pay exam fees

Some 29 817 candidates risk not sitting for Malawi National Examinations Board (Maneb) examinations this year after their parents and guardians failed to pay examination fees.

The candidates are those expected to sit for Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education (PSLCE), Junior Certificate of Education (JCE) and Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE).

The number represents 4.68 percent of the 637 887 candidates registered this year to sit the national examinations.

Out of the 637 887 candidates, 608 045 have paid their examination fees, representing 95.32 percent. This means 29 817 candidates accross the country will not sit their examinations.

The situation would have been worse if some well-wishers and charity organisations had not come in time to help some of the needy students.

Maneb chief executive officer professor Dorothy Nampota said the number of those who have failed to pay is quite concerning.

She said: “The number of candidates that registered for JCE is 172 883 and those that have paid examination fees are 159 200, representing 92.09 percent.  A total of 13 683 candidates did not pay for their examinations, representing 7.91 percent

“191 662 registered for MSCE examinations and those that have paid are 181 982 representing 94.95 percent. This means 9 680 candidates did not pay for MSCE examination fees, representing 5.05 percent.”

Nampota said for PSLCE, 265 922 students registered but only 259 468 paid the identification processing fee pegged at K3 800 while 6 454 failed to pay.

In an interview, one parent in Nsanje, Megetchi Patrick said she could not afford to pay for her two wards sitting for JCE this year due to economic hardships.

“I am jobless and do not earn enough; hence, I could not afford to raise such amounts,” she said

Civil Society Education Coalition executive director Benedicto Kondowe said the situation does not only deprive the students the chance to showcase their academic abilities but also perpetuates inequality and limits their future educational and career opportunities.

“To address this issue, authorities should have explored alternative measures. Options include implementing a more flexible fee structure, offering financial assistance or scholarships, and seeking partnerships with organisations for additional funding,” he said.

Renowned education expert Richard Nyirongo said the situation is distressing and not in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number four which calls for inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.

He said: “The Malawi 2063 development agenda enabler number five also seeks to promote human capital development. Government could have subsidised the fees or Maneb could have slashed down the fees to enable everyone to pay to ease the economic hardships parents and guardians went through in 2023.”

Nyirongo further said 2023 has been a harsh year economically in terms of income for survival due to various natural disasters and the 44 percent kwacha devaluation which probably made parents fail to balance between paying for examinations fee and food.

He said: “So, under this situation, government was supposed to come in with either a subsidised fee or slashing it a bit to make it affordable for the sake of achieving Malawi 2063 goals.”

But Ministry of Education spokesperson Mphatso Nkuonera said while the suggestion to reduce the fees was welcome, administering national examinations requires huge resources.

“I cannot comment more as I need to consult my superiors on that but you should know that administering national examinations requires huge resources; hence, the fee requirement.”

On its part, to cushion parents and guardians, Nampota said Maneb shifted the deadline for paying examination fees from December 1 to December 31 2023.

However, some parents and guardians still failed to afford to pay the fees for their wards.

 The harsh economic situation has not spared tertiary education, with reports rife that some public university students are failing to access their end-of-year examination results while others have dropped out of college due to lack of fees.

The country has been battling an economic crisis, including the 44 percent devaluation of the kwacha that has led to high food prices and cost of living.