Mutharika slammed for K50,000 University of Malawi fees cut

Renowned Poet and #feesmustfall activist Robert Chiwamba has slammed President Peter Mutharika for reducing fees by K50,000 saying the new K350,00 fees is still too much.

Mutharika on Thursday directed that fees for all generic students be reduced by K50,000 in all colleges of University of Malawi. Following Mutharika’s directive, generic students will be coughing K350,000, mature students at College of Medicine will be paying K1 million instead of K1.4 million, mature students at Kamuzu College of Nursing will now be parting ways with K700,000 while those at Chancellor College and Malawi Polytechnic will be paying K600,000.

But Chiwamba was not amused by the cuts saying the fees is too much considering that the students have to also pay for food and accommodation.

The poet also accused the student union leaders who met the president of betraying their fellow students.

In a poem posted on his Facebook page, the poet faulted the student leaders for accepting the K50,000 cut saying they failed to represent the concerns of needy students who will not manage to pay the prohibitive fees.   

“Zoona ma Demo onse aja kumenyedwa ndi apolisi inu osatsutsika K50,000 basi? Aaagh, zikomobe potiphunzitsa kut a Yudasi adakalipo (After the massive demonstrations during which students were tortured by the police and you never thought twice before accepting the meagre K50,000 cut? Thanks for teaching us that there are still Judases amidst us),” said Chiwamba in the poem.

At the meeting with the student leaders in Lilongwe, Mutharrika also ordered the reopening of Chancellor College which was closed at the height of the fees hike demonstrations.