Govt set to end colleges’ accommodation woes

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has developed a Cabinet paper on Public, Private Partnership (PPPs) to enable universities to engage the private sector in construction of hostels.

Deputy Minister of Education, Science and Technology Vincent Ghambi disclosed this in an interview in Lilongwe on the sidelines of the second anniversary of Luanar.

Ghambi said public universities such as the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Luanar) and private universities are facing accommodation problems.

Said Ghambi: “As a ministry, we are aware of the increase in the number of students not only at Luanar, but in other private colleges. I know that at Luanar, on campus, university-owned accommodation was designed to cater for about 800 students but there are over 3 000 students which means that 60 percent of the students population is unable to secure university accommodation.

“This has resulted in some students dwelling in improvised and substandard units not befitting university students.”

According to Ghambi, Luanar is playing a major role towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development.

Luanar vice-chancellor Professor Kanyama Phiri commended government for taking interest to end accommodation problems at the institution.

“Luanar has not only produced human resources for agriculture sector but has also contributed to the development of several policies that have made a huge difference to the nation. Our dream is to turn Luanar into a world-class university and we cannot achieve this when students do not have proper accommodation,” said Phiri.