More than 100 Malawian students studying in Morocco on government scholarships have cried out for urgent intervention due to several challenges affecting their welfare and academic stability.
Several documents Weekend Nation has seen show the students’ main concern relates to insufficient and irregular disbursement of stipends meant for upkeep and accommodation, additional unbudgeted expenses and banking restrictions.
The affected students are pursuing academic and vocational studies under the Government of Malawi and Kingdom of Morocco scholarship programme.
parents: Msaka I Nation
Following the students’ concerns, a virtual meeting was held on February 1 2026, between representatives of the students’ parents and guardians and the Malawian Students Union (MSU) Board in Morocco.
The students claim they receive allowances once every two months with inconsistent amounts that make budgeting and basic survival extremely difficult.
“In the last six months of the year, significant deductions [have been] made to cover annual registration fees and mandatory medical insurance. This leaves students with a severely reduced amount for daily survival,” read the minutes of the meeting.
The students, according to the minutes, also complained of unbudgeted expenses which include annual registration fees for vocational training students amounting to $100 and the cost of renewing temporary residence permits.
Since 2023, the Moroccan Government has been offering fully sponsored scholarships to Malawian students through the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation. The scholarships are supposed to cover tuition fees, travel and allowances.
Further, the students are also affected by the Malawian banking restrictions on visa card activation and low ATM international withdrawal limits.
“This forces students to seek informal and often costly currency exchange methods, compounding the hardship of an already insufficient and irregular stipend,” read the minutes.
The meeting suggested that both governments of Malawi and Morocco should be held accountable for ensuring the students receive adequate financial and welfare support.
The minutes also record that parents agreed to petition the Ministry of Education to immediately intervene on the matter.
Ministry of Education, Science and Technology spokesperson Lily Kampani yesterday acknowledged receipt of the students’ concerns submitted by the parents and guardians.
“The ministry appreciates the constructive engagement reflected in the petition of February 1 2026, which followed consultations involving families and the Malawian Students Union in Morocco.
“Scholarship students’ welfare and academic continuity remain a priority for the government. The ministry is carefully reviewing the matters raised to better understand and address the situation,” explained Kampani.
In their undated petition addressed to Minister of Education, Science and Technology Bright Msaka, the concerned parents and guardians are requesting for urgent intervention on the matter.
The parents note that other governments with students on the same scholarships have adopted proactive measures to support their citizens.
“For example, countries such as Zambia have instituted more predictable stipend disbursement systems, supplementary allowances during periods of high financial pressure and closer coordination with embassies to monitor students’ welfare,” reads the petition signed by almost 50 parents reads.
In an interview from Morocco, MSU Board general secretary Philip Kumbewe confirmed the existence of the challenges and their board’s meeting with parents and guardians.
However, Kumbewe said negotiations between his union, Malawi Embassy in Morocco, Moroccan Embassy in Malawi, parents and relevant ministries from both countries were underway to secure support for them on a special treatment.
“There are some students whose parents or guardians have the ability to send money, but we have many others whose parents do not have the capacity and such students are in dire need,” lamented Kumbewe.
Msaka has not been picking up his phone to respond to our message since last week when we first contacted him for his reaction to the petition.
Equally, Malawi’s ambassador to Morocco General Vincent Nundwe (Retired) did not respond to our inquiry when contacted to comment on the students’ claims.
But on Tuesday this week the embassy’s first secretary in Rabat Abdullah Omar Mdala contacted Weekend Nation stating the mission will not comment anything on the issue.
He said: “The ambassador will not say anything [on the student’s claims] suffice to say the matter is being looked into so talk to our spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.”
But the ministry’s spokesperson Charles Nkhalamba further referred Weekend Nation to the Ministry of Education’s principal higher education officer Private Mchenga who asked for more time before commenting.
In an interview, legal and education expert Benedicto Kondowe said the student’s concerns need to be taken seriously as they signal welfare and coordination failures.
“Such conditions undermine concentration, academic performance and wellbeing and can even lead to dropouts. In effect, the country risks losing the very skills it intended to develop,” he said.
Kondowe expected the response from authorities not to be defensive but corrective and protective.
On his part, human rights advocate Michael Kaiyatsa said the situation was worrisome as it touches on fundamental right to education, which government has an obligation to respect, protect and fulfill.
He observed that education could not happen in conditions of neglect and uncertainty and a scholarship must guarantee not just admission into a university but a dignified environment that allows students to learn, live safely and complete their studies.
