Zomba nursing students appeals for fees support

Malawi College of Health Sciences (MCHS) Zomba Campus principal Miriam Chinkhata has said some students are unable to attend classes at the facility due to lack of fees.

She said this on Thursday during a familiarisation tour by the Deputy Minister of Health Enock Phale.

Chinkhata said in the 2021 academic year, 20 first year students reserved their places while at least five to 10 percent of the continuing students in each class sit for deferred examinations each semester after failing to sit for the initial examinations with their colleagues due to lack of school fees.

She said: “If the students’ Loans Board could extend the facility to our students and other stakeholders supports the campus with K50 million to renovate the dilapidated hostel strictures, we could accommodate more students.”

Chinkhata said the institution has a bed capacity of 211 against a student population of 526, forcing some of the students to reside off-campus. She also said the 526 students share 30 desktop computers.

In his remarks,Phale said his ministry will look into the loans facility issue as well as support the renovation of the dilapidated structures, observing that  Malawi is in dire need of well-trained medical personnel to treat the growing population.

MCHS-Zomba Campus, formerly called Zomba School of Nursing, is the oldest among the three campuses that include Lilongwe and Blantyre as it was opened in 1930 to train nursing assistants. Initially, lessons at the institution were delivered in the vernacular. 

In 1950 the college started training nurses and midwives at certificate level.