“Pay new school fees or drop out,” Malawi govt. tells students on new fees regime

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Malawi secondary school Students

The Malawi government has come out hard on the new school fees for Secondary education that they have introduced.

Malawi secondary school Students
Students told to withdraw

In a meeting that was meant at clarifying the position of government on the matter, Director of Secondary education in the Ministry of Education Chikondano Mussa told the members of the press gathered that students will have to withdraw if they cannot pay the school fees that government has recently hiked in a very unpopular move.

“If parents and guardians cannot afford to pay then they should write a letter to the education division manager through the head teacher of the school, they should notify the manager that their children are withdrawing,” Mussa said.

He further said that government will then reserve the place for the child but only for a year.

“The children can re-apply for admission after one year and if the fees is there then they will be welcomed back,” he said.

Mussa could not say what would happen to those who would stay out of school for over a year. He said that the only excuse that one would have to stay out of school for over a year would have to be on health grounds.

The DPP led government introduced punitive school fees for Malawi at a time that many people are failing to make ends meet following the lack of sound financial leadership by the current regime. The decision has made Mutharika lose popularity.