Representatives of students from the country’s six public universities have asked Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to reverse the 100 percent increment in tuition fees and instead implement a 35 percent increase.
Students’ Representative Council member Yatuta Mulungu, speaking on the sidelines of the meeting in Lilongwe yesterday, said they proposed a reversal of the increment to be followed by a 35 percent gradual increment.
He said: “We heard to their [ministry officials] side of the story justifying the hike and presented our part requesting for the reduction of the soaring tuition fees.
“We requested a reversal of the 100 percent hike and proposed a gradual increase of 35 percent, dependent on the standard value for money justifying the next increment.”
Mulungu, who also leads University of Malawi (Unima) students, said the students’ community awaits the response from government on the proposed stance.
But the ministry said in a statement on its Facebook page that the meeting sought to address information gaps surrounding the fee adjustment so that students understand the justification for the adjustment.
Higher Education Students Loans and Grants Board loans and disbursement manager Abels Tembo said government was increasing investment in student financing despite growing demand.
It came after Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mzuzu University, Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences, Unima and Malawi University of Science and Technology hiked fees from K650 000 to K1.3 million per academic year.
However, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences moved from K1 million to K2 million, but implementation will begin from the 2027/28 academic year.
In the K10.9 trillion 2026/27 National Budget, government has allocated K42 billion for student loans and upkeep allowances to cater for 38 000 needy students in public universities before the fees were revised.
