Educationists and activists have questioned the Malawi National Examinations Board (Maneb) decision to raise the remark fee for Junior Certificate of Education (JCE) examinations from K45 000 in 2025 to K70 000 per subject.
Maneb announced the new fee structure in a communication released this week, days after announcing the 2026 examination results.
In a statement, Maneb said the fee was non-refundable.
Reacting to the development, Catholic University of Malawi dean of the faculty of education Alipo Kaphwiyo said even an average working Malawian would struggle to raise K70 000 for a single subject.
She said the situation is complicated for candidates from economically poor and rural households who already struggle to pay ordinary school fees.
“The amount is simply out of reach. In effect, this fee turns a basic academic right into a privilege for the few who can afford it,” said Kaphwiyo.
“Without a public justification, it is fair for people to suspect that the real aim is to discourage remark applications altogether, rather than to reflect any genuine cost of the service.”
Another academic, Benedict Dada Zele, a Catholic priest, said the decision negates the direction taken by government when introducing free secondary education and subtracts accessibility to social justice.
Civil Society Education Coalition executive director Benedicto Kondowe said while re-marking inevitably carries administrative costs, the fee must be reasonable, proportionate and consistent with equitable access to education.
But Mzuzu University academic Foster Lungu held a different view, suggesting that “you do not want to allow just anybody to request for a remark”.
“There should be good reasons for a person to request a remark. So this fee I think partly builds in that aspect so that only those who are very serious will request for a remark,” he said.
By press time at 9pm yesterday, Maneb spokesperson Angella Kashitigu had not yet responded to our questionnaire sent on Tuesday.
