CDF bursary eludes needy students
Thirty six students from Nyungwe Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) in Karonga under the constituency school bursary scheme have been missing classes for almost a month now after being sent away for nonpayment of fees.
In an interview, Nyungwe Concerned Citizens vice-chairperson Prescott Mwafulirwa expressed concern with the situation, saying they fear many girl students who are now at home may end up in early marriages if nothing is urgently done to help them.
He said they have tried to get information on the matter from the member of Parliament (MP) Kenneth Ndovie but to no avail.
Mwafulirwa, whose organisation represents the voiceless and also tracks how the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) is utilised said: “It is a worrying and frustrating situation because our wish is to see these students in class and continue with their education.”
However, asked how the funds were utilised, Karonga District Council spokesperson Tibonge Kampondeni said the legislator claimed all the bursary funds.
She said: “So, he is better-placed to explain what happened to the students that were sent away.”
But in an interview, Ndovie, while confirming that some students were sent away from school, said the situation was as a result of depletion of the bursary limit for the fiscal year 2022/2023.
A list we have seen comprising the 36 released students indicates the bursary scheme owes the Nyungwe Community Day Secondary School fees balance amounting to K1 388 000.
The students were identified in 27 villages around the constituency and their fees balances range from K28 000 to K85 000 per learner.
They consist of 20 girls and 16 boys with 11 of them studying towards writing their Malawi School Certificate of Education examinations this year while 16 are in Form Three. There are six and three who are in Forms Two and One, respectively.
Ndovie said due to demand, they settled for a 50-50 arrangement so that as many needy youths as possible access education.
The parliamentarian said the bursary pays half the students’ fees while their parents are responsible for the other half.
“So the bursary was indeed not paid because we exhausted our limit for this year. We have about K2 million to K3 million per term but I am not sure about the exact figure,” he explained.
According to information we have sourced, Karonga Nyungwe Constituency has 102 needy students under the bursary out of which 39 are in boarding schools. In the current school calendar, their total fees is K4 315 000.00.
The MP said he personally visited the school and negotiated with the management not to chase away the students from school but allow them access to class while the matter is being sorted out.
Among other secondary schools with needy students under the constituency bursary scheme include Chaminade and Karonga Girls.
Ndovie won the seat in May 2019 on independent ticket before joining the former governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in November 2019. He later dumped the DPP to join UTM in August 2020.
