Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Parliament Simplex Chithyola Banda has described the recent 100 percent fees increase in Parliament as a big blow and a direct assault on the aspirations of thousands of young Malawians whose greatest hope of escaping poverty lies in education.
This follows announcements that Mzuzu University, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Malawi have adjusted their annual fees from K650,000 to K1,300,000 while Kamuzu University of Health Sciences has adjusted its annual fees from K1,000,000 to K2,000,000 beginning from the coming academic year.
In a statement released on Thursday, Chithyola Banda has called for an immediate review and reverse the 100 percent increase in public university tuition fees and maintaining continuous and meaningful engagement with University Councils, students, parents and all relevant stakeholders until a sustainable solution is found.
He has further called for adequate capitalization of public universities so that they can generate sustainable income through research, innovation, commercial enterprises and strategic partnerships instead of relying heavily on tuition fees and the renew of the national commitment to ensuring that Malawi’s public universities remain accessible, affordable and centres of academic excellence for every deserving student.
“Behind every student admitted to a public university is a story of sacrifice. There is a mother who has gone without new clothes so her child can remain in school. There is a father who has sold livestock or a harvest to pay tuition.
“There is a guardian who has borrowed money with nothing but hope that one day the child they are supporting will transform not only their family, but the nation itself. Today, that hope has been shaken.
“This increase comes at a time when the ordinary Malawian is already carrying one of the heaviest economic burdens in our country’s history. Every employed citizen pays Pay As You Earn (PAYE) before they even receive their salary. Every family pays Value Added Tax (VAT) whenever they buy essential goods and services.
“Every litre of fuel attracts levies that drive up transport costs and, in turn, increase the prices of food, farm inputs and virtually every basic necessity. Every stage of life has become another opportunity for government to collect money from struggling citizens.
“Our farmers, who remain the backbone of Malawi’s economy, are suffering just as much. They purchased farm inputs at exorbitant prices, many after delayed distribution. They worked tirelessly throughout the farming season, only to be rewarded with disappointing prices for tobacco, maize and legumes. Instead of rewarding productivity, this government has created a system that punishes hard work.
“Rather than fixing the economy, creating jobs, expanding the tax base through economic growth and prudently managing public resources, this administration appears determined to squeeze more money from already exhausted citizens. When productive sectors are struggling, government turns to ordinary families to fill the gaps created by economic mismanagement,” he said
THE KAMUZU LEGACY SET THE STANDARD
Chithyola Banda said education is not an expense but rather an investment.
“That is why the late Ngwazi Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda and the MCP government placed such a high premium on higher education as early as the 1960s.
“They understood that the true wealth of a nation is found not beneath its soil, but in the minds of its people. They invested in universities because they understood that every doctor, every teacher, every engineer, every lawyer, every scientist and every public servant begins as a student.
“That vision transformed lives and helped build the skilled workforce that has served Malawi for generations. This proud legacy did not end with Dr Banda. It was carried forward by the MCP Government of Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, which also placed higher education at the centre of its priorities.
“During its tenure, Government raised the students’ upkeep allowance from approximately K350,000 to K560,000, and expanded the number of students benefiting from higher education loans from 17,000 to over 31,000.
“Throughout that period, no public university suffered unnecessary closure or was starved of the funding it needed to operate. This is the standard of responsible, student-centred leadership that Malawians know MCP can deliver, and it is the standard against which today’s 100 percent fee increase must be judged.
“It is therefore deeply troubling that, today, higher education is becoming increasingly inaccessible to the very citizens it was established to serve. What makes this decision even more difficult to understand is the contradiction in government policy.
“On one hand, government celebrates the introduction of free secondary school education. On the other hand, it has doubled university tuition fees. What is the value of free secondary education if deserving students cannot afford to proceed to university? Education is one continuous journey.
“It cannot be free at one stage and become unreachable at the next. This is also not the first time the Democratic Progressive Party has had to introduce a crisis in Malawi’s tertiary education sector. Malawians vividly remember the Academic Freedom impasse of 2011.
“A dispute that should have been resolved through dialogue resulted in prolonged university closures, disrupted academic calendars and delayed graduation for thousands of students. Families suffered. Students lost valuable years of their lives.
“The nation paid a heavy price. We must never repeat those mistakes, Government must choose dialogue over unilateral decisions, consultation over confrontation and leadership over expediency,” he said
