Nsanje District Council says it is looking for means to settle K11 million it owes Nsanje Secondary School in school fees arrears accumulated in the 2024/25 academic year.
In an interview, Nsanje district commissioner Sandram Naluso said the school fees is part of bursaries from different constituencies in the district.
He said: “Yes as a council there is a need to settle the arrears. I learned about the arrears from the school’s board of governance and parents and teachers association who approached my office to lodge the complaint.
“Last year they wrote the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology on the matter but the ministry advised them to check with our office.”
Naluso said after going through the documents, he established that area development committees (ADC) allegedly ignored bursary guidelines and sent more learners to various secondary schools, including those who did not deserve the bursaries.
“However, our office settled the fees for only those who qualified for the bursaries. So, we write ADCs across the district to see how best to pay the school,” he said.
Nsanje Secondary School head boy Thomas Dinyero urged the council to settle the bill to help the school finance its expenses.
“The situation has affected our diet at the institution,” he said.
Nsanje Secondary School board of governance chairperson Davie Mulaphi said the school needs the money from the council because it also owes food suppliers over K50 million.
He said: “Annually, we use over 300 bags of maize. So, when the enrolment of learners under bursary increased, we ordered more maize from our suppliers.
“We have learned that ADCs allowed politicians to send more learners under bursaries to school. When we demanded the money, some politicians influenced the transfer of the head teacher and his deputy to another school,” he said
