Govt-sponsored students go 3 months without upkeep

Government-sponsored University Certificate of Education (UCE) students at Mzuzu University (Mzuni) say they have gone three months without upkeep and stationery allowances.

The students, who are secondary school teachers, said they are entitled to K60 000 (about $130) per month as upkeep allowance that also covers their accommodation and K70 000 ($152) as annual stationery allowance to cater for printing, photocopying and Internet access.

The students said they reported for classes on September 1 this year and government has not released their allowances despite providing their bank details and later complaining to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology about their plight.

Speaking in an interview on Tuesday, one student said most of the students have families and it is hard to look into their needs at school as well as fend for their families back at home.

Ministry of Education, Science and Technology acting spokesperson Manfred Ndovi on Wednesday said there were logistical problems in accessing details of the students regarding the payments.

He said the ministry has sorted out the problems and will soon be disbursing the funds.