Malawi Govt mum on science university

Malawi Government failed to give an update of the Malawi University of Science and Technology (Must) located in Malawi’s southern district of Thyolo apparently because the responsible minister is out of the country.

During responses to both President Joyce Banda’s statement and the 2013/14 budget presentation, government has come under pressure to explain the position of several projects initiated by the late Bingu wa Mutharika, including Must, located in Mutharika’s personal Ndata Farm.

The pressure from the Members of Parliament (MPs) led Malawi Government to promise that it would bring a report into the House on the progress of the university.

However, despite the statement appearing as the first agenda item on yesterday’s order paper, the update was not tabled after leader of the House Henry Phoya asked for a waiver to the order paper so that the statement should be skipped.

Phoya told Speaker Henry Chimunthu Banda that the deferring of the statement was because Kazembe was not in the country. Apparently her deputy, Chikumbutso Hiwa, was also not in the House.

The item on the order paper stated that the Minister of Education, Science and Technology would give a statement “on the current status of the Malawi University of Science and Technology (Must), Chancellor College and the Malawi Polytechnic.”

However, Phoya said the item will come back on Monday only as a statement for Must and not the other two constituent colleges of the University of Malawi.

Chancellor College and Polytechnic are currently closed after students went on strike demanding an increase to their monthly allowance and also a cut in fees being paid by self-sponsored students which are at K250 000 (about $625) per year.

There has been uncertainty as to when government will be able to open Must after a report from the Public Universities Working Committee revealed that it will require almost K25 billion (about $62 500) to have the university opened.