Unima, Luanar selection irks NGO
The Civil Society Education Coalition (Csec) has questioned the eligibility of students from what it calls expensive secondary schools for the 2013 government‘s sponsorship to the University of Malawi (Unima) and Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Luanar).
Government this week released names of those selected to the two universities. A summary of the results shows that of the11 539 students who sat for the exams, 10 328 passed and 1 909 have been selected.
However, for the first time, students have been categorised into government sponsored and self-sponsored.
Csec executive director Benedicto Kondowe in an interview on Monday said government should come in the open to explain how it decided on the mode of sponsorship.
Kondowe said it was shocking to note a number of students from high schools and other expensive schools on government sponsorship which is meant for the needy students.
“A right thinking human being should be able to note that students from Kamuzu Academy, St Andrews or Kalibu Academy are better placed to pay fees than those from rural schools.
“In the absence of a statement, government cannot be trusted,” he said.
Director for Higher Education Dixie Maluwa Banda said Csec made a good observation on the sponsorship, but there are many things that come into play.
“Students from high schools are on government sponsorship because of their performance,” he said.
To be honest while writing the unima/luanar examinations there is an option to select whether a student applying will be able to self sponsor him/her self. So if a student such as my self who applied for UNIMA who went to an expensive school (kalibu academy) as stated above, has the right to decided if he doesn’t make government scholarship he will self sponsor his/her self so I’m sure the rural students also decided that they would be able to pay the academic tuition fee.
Ndizimenezo. This quota thing was designed to suit children of the haves. CESC, please do more analysis of the selection so that we have clearer breakdown.
What does government mean when it says selection was based on performance? Do they know that enviroment and adequate resources are of a greater impact to excellent performance? Think about one from the rural Chiringa community secondary and one from St Andrews, do u think their perfomance can match? No ways, if both of them have made it into the university, the one from the community school is more intelligent than the other. He has made it through the minimum resources that he had. Give sponsorship to the needy for the elite are already capable of paying K250 000 for the whole year, which to them is nothing as compared to the K400 000 they were paying only for a term. The needy has been struggling to pay K5 000 for a term and you want them to pay K250 000, where would they get such kind of money? Be justifiable and pathetic. I pity you! Have a human heart! You are depriving the poor of a right to education. Revise your system I beg!