By Raphael Likaka
Deputy Minister of Health Enock Phale says needy students at the Malawi Colleges of Health Sciences deserve loans to enable them finish their programmes and the Tonse Alliance Government will make sure that the students access the loans.
Phale made the remarks at Malawi College of Health Sciences in Zomba where he observed that needy diploma students find it difficult to pursue their studies due to financial problems.
Higher Education Students Loans Grants Board which was established by a Parliamentary Act and the board’s website states that a person applying for loan “must be needy Malawian citizen who has been admitted into a fully accredited/registered Higher Learning Institution (private and public) as a candidate for a higher Diploma and or first degree on full time basis in an accredited program or course”.
During interaction with the students at Zomba campus who presented their financial challenges in the course of pursuing their tertiary education, Phale proposed that consideration for loans should be extended to diploma students.
According to Phale, in 2015, the board that was responsible for the student loans was instructed to give out loans to those pursuing degree programmes and this was unfortunate and discriminatory to those pursuing diploma programmes.
“The Tonse Alliance Government will see to it that students that pursue diploma programmes should access student loans,” the deputy minister said, observing that most Health Science students finish at diploma programmes but fail to go for degree programme due to financial problems.
He pledged that government will review the Parliamentary Act so that the Act should also accommodate those doing diploma programmes.
On student accommodation at the Zomba College of Health Sciences, the deputy minister said he will ensure that the dilapidated hostels are rehabilitated to provide conducive environment for the tertiary education.
He said the Ministry of Health was aware that some students were compelled to stay outside the campus due to limited space within the college campus and the poor conditions of the hostels.
Phale also pledged to procure modern laboratory equipment to improve learning saying: “l’ve observed that the laboratory lacks adequate and modern equipment and my ministry will procure modern equipment.”
Principal of Zomba College of Health Sciences, Mirriam Chinkhata, said most needy students fail to pursue their programmes because they cannot afford tuition fees, adding that 20 students failed to start their first year diploma programmes due to financial problems and the students have since written the college to preserve their space.
Chinkhata said she was impressed to hear that students at diploma programmes will also be able to access loans to keep them going.
On student accommodation, she said the college has three hostels only which fail to accommodate all the student but expressed hope that most students will be accommodated within the campus once another hostel is constructed.
The college principal observed that students’ safety is compromised once they are accommodated outside the campus.
Student representative, Cuthbert Mwansambo, asked the Ministry of Health to buy the college a backup generator to address power blackouts which he said affect students’ education.
“We face a lot of problems during electricity blackouts as such we ask for a backup generator that should address the problem,” he added.
Malawi Colleges of Health Sciences in Zomba has closer to 500 students and only 200 are accommodated within the campus due to limited student accommodation.
