Education sector stakeholders have applauded the the development of bursary guidelines under the Reformed K5 billion Constituency Development Fund (CDF), but urgent clarity on identification of beneficiaries and oversight.
In the preamble to the guidelines, Secretary for Education, Science and Technology Ken Ndala said the document is intended to promote integrity, transparency and accountability in the use of public funds, and equal opportunity for all eligible applicants, particularly those from vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds.
The guidelines show that the government has increased the CDF bursary allocation to K150 million.
Apart from public boarding secondary schools, the CDF bursaries will also be extended to the needy students from Primary Teacher Training Colleges; technical, entrepreneurial and vocational education and training (Tevet) institutions (National Technical Colleges, Community Technical Colleges and Community Skills Development Centres), and Malawi College for Health Sciences (MCHS).
Reads in part the guidelines: “In January 2026, Government introduced free secondary education policy where all forms of fees in public secondary schools except boarding fees were abolished. This means that the bursaries will only apply to public boarding secondary schools.
“Who does not qualify? Students repeating a class or a course; students withdrawn from school or college on Academic grounds or misconduct; mature entry students; students on another bursary or scholarship; Tevet students on economic fees.”
Civil Society Education Coalition (Csec) executive director Benedicto Kondowe said in the first place, the Bursaries Guidelines are a positive step towards promoting transparency, fairness and objectivity by establishing clear eligibility criteria and a structured, community-based selection process.
But he said the blanket exclusion of students repeating a class or course may unfairly disadvantage genuinely vulnerable learners who repeat due to illness, disability or other circumstances beyond their control.
Link for Education Governance chief Limbani Nsapato noted that previously, bursaries were benefiting students that might not have qualified, because the selection process was not very clear.
Malawi Local Government Association executive director Hardrod Mkandawire said a bursary scheme does not fall within the definition of the broader development financing and specifically local development framework, but a social protection scheme.
According to the guidelines, bursary beneficiaries will be identified by communities through the Village Development Committees (VDCs), which will submit the lists to the Area/Urban Development Committees (ADC/UDC) for vetting and consolidation.
The ADC/UDC will forward the consolidated lists to the Constituency Development Committee (CDC) for screening and verification before submission to the Local Authority for final approval.
