Malawi University of Science and Technology (Must) Endowment Fund has hit K5 billion since its establishment in 2018 following contributions from the corporate sector and the interest the fund is generating, it has emerged.
Must Vice-Chancellor Professor Address Malata said this when receiving a K20 million donation from Standard Bank Malawi plc in Lilongwe yesterday, which brings the bank’s total contribution to the fund to K80 million.
Malata. | George Lumwira
She hailed the bank’s support and said the donation has pushed the fund to K5 billion which will go towards the support of needy students and other academic research obligations using five percent of its interest income.
Said Malata: “We are also delighted that students have started benefiting. Endowment funds are supposed to be invested for at least three years and then you start getting at least five percent of interest that you get from the fund.
“At the end of the day we say students should get support, we don’t want students to drop out because they don’t have fees, but as you have seen, although students are benefiting, we still have a great need and therefore we would want more partners and more resources.”
Pr e s ent i n g t h e c h e q u e, Standard Bank chief executive officer Phillip Madinga said the bank was compelled to partner the university after being convinced with its vision and considering the endowment fund’s importance to the country’s education sector.
“We partnered with Must because at Standard Bank we bel i eve that improv ing the standard of the education sector is very critical, and now this endowment fund is very critical because it supports n eedy students in many ways,” he said.
Must launched the fund in 2021 and activities included an inaugural Must Endowment Fund fundraising golf tournament teed off by departed Vice-President Saulos Chilima who lured corporates to support it.
