University of Malawi raises fees

Students pursuing various programmes at the University of Malawi (Unima) will now have to cough K55 000 (about $183) from K25 000 (about $83) per academic year starting from the next academic year.

A statement from the University Office on Tuesday attributed the increase to the current economic situation in the country. The last time Unima adjusted the fees was in 2000 which sparked protest from students.

University registrar Benedicto Wokomaatani Malunga said the students can pay their contribution in two equal instalments of K27 500 (about $92) during registration for each semester.

Meanwhile, Unima has announced first year selection results and names of government sponsored candidates who have been admitted into various degree programmes for the 2012/2013 academic year based on the quota system of selection.

A total of 908 candidates have been admitted into Unima. The gender distribution for the selected candidates is 445 females and 463 males, representing 49 percent and 51 percent, respectively.

But government said this year’s system cannot be referred to as quota since it has taken into account a number of factors, including the gender aspect.

“This is an equitable system and not quota system as has been wrongly portrayed. It is equitable because it is looking at a number of factors such as gender and we are using that and not quota system,” said Ministry of Education spokesperson Lindiwe Chide in an interview.

She said while the quota system had unequal representation per district with other districts having more but fixed admissions, the current system has proportional representation with each district getting 10 places while the rest are considered on population and merit parameters.