Mutharika to intervene on University fee hike saga

Barely two weeks after University of Malawi (UNIMA) students Chancellor College protested against fee hike, can FaceofMalawi reveal that President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika has come out of his cocoon to intervene on the saga.

Last week and this week, students from Chanco, Polytechnic and Kamuzu College of Nursing both from Blantyre campus and Lilongwe have been on the street protesting against fee hike.

The protest especially that of Chancellor College even affected the three days-state visit of the United States of America Vice President’s wife Jill Biden who postponed her trip to Machinga after her convoy was blocked in Zomba.

During these demonstrations several students were arrested and charged with conduct likely to cause breach of peace.

Speaking in an interview with the press, Presidential Press Officer Mgeme Kalilani said Mutharika has called for immediate indaba between the University Council representative and Ministry of Education to look on the matter as soon as possible.

Kalilani said Mutharika wants the issue to be resolved as soon as possible so that the academic calendar is not disrupted with the recent saga.

Unima council recently announced that mature entry students will be paying tuition fees ranging from K900 000 ($1249) to K1.4 million ($1 942), first year generic students will pay fees in the range of K400 000 ($555) to K600 000 ($833) while continuing students will pay K400 000 per annum.