UPDATE: UNIMA Bows Down To Students, Scraps Off 9th Semester Tuition Fees
Published on October 1, 2025 at 9:41 AM by Edgar Naitha
Education students at the University of Malawi (UNIMA) are celebrating a major victory after university management officially scrapped the controversial 9th semester tuition fees.
The decision comes in the wake of recent student-led demonstrations at the UNIMA campus, where fourth-year Education students voiced strong opposition to the additional fees imposed for the Teaching Practice semester.
In a memo dated September 29, UNIMA Registrar Martin Matululu announced that all current fourth-year Education students will no longer be required to pay tuition fees for the 9th semester.
Going forward, the university has revealed plans to implement a revised curriculum that will embed the Teaching Practice component within the standard eight semesters of study. The change will begin with the current first-, second-, and third-year cohorts.
“The new curriculum will have eight semesters, effectively resolving the issue of 9th semester fees and extra costs,” reads the memo.
The move has been widely welcomed by students and education rights advocates, who viewed the additional semester as an unnecessary financial burden.
