GOOD NEWS TO STUDENTS ON GOVERNMENT SPONSORSHIP; CHAPWA MWALA,MEAL ALLOWANCE UPDATE.
BY: CHIMUKA SIMONGA
On 7th January,2023,The Higher Education Loans and Scholarships Board (HELSB),convened an extraordinary meeting with all public Universities’ students’ unions to discuss the roadmap on the students’ living allowance aka meal allowance.
This follows its re-introduction by the New Dawn Government in the 2023 national budget;it was abolished by the PF Government with Prof.Nkandu Luo being at the helm of the then,Ministry of Higher Education.
May I report the good news from the extraordinary meeting between HELSB and students’ unions as follows;
GENERAL MATTERS
1. All students on Government sponsorship will be receiving this allowance; not only first year students but also returning students.
2 .Students will be entitled to a monthly allowance of K675.
NEW DEVELOPMENTS
In order to instil predictability and void sources of chaos with regards to disbursement of this allowance, the New Dawn government through HELSB has framed the following measures;
1. In each month,students will be receiving their allowance on a known, specific day; allowances will be credited on the LAST DAY of each month.
2.Interestingly,in order to relieve students of the chronic stress necessitated by omissions where,if a student is omitted, there has been no known day one receives and or not receiving their omitted allowance at all,the New Dawn government through HELSB has put in the following measures;
a) When a student is omitted,details will be submitted to the Board by the 10th day of the new month.
b) The student then receives the omitted allowance by the 20th day of the same month.
This means,headaches of frequenting HELSB offices pushing for these omissions are treated once and for all!
3. The Board indicated that,in an invent that a student on the loan dies,this should be reported in order for the family to be given a compensation through a special fund allocated for such; this information is saliently important as many students on government sponsorship have died without this fund given.
4. The New Dawn Government through HELSB has developed an ONLINE SCREENING platform where,instead of queuing up,pushing each other,in the sun,students will be able to screen online;this is still a pilot project that will be rolled out in a phased manner,along side physical screening, before it is commercially used.
OTHER GOVERNMENT COMMITMENTS
In oder to continue promoting and creating space for access to education to all vulnerable Zambian children through government bursaries and loans,key issues were pronounced;
1. Students’ Unions were assured that,in the 2024 national budget, there is serious consideration for increment of this living allowance from the current K675 per month.
2.In various occasions of interaction, the New Dawn government has reassured its commitment to extension of students’ loans, in a phased manner, to private institutions in the coming years, as the economy stabilises;this is in order,to carter for those vulnerable Zambian children who need the sponsorship.
MY MESSAGE TO BENEFITING STUDENTS
To those who are first entrants to these Universities, now with this meal allowance, please, go and study hard,do all it takes to attain that education;hunger will no longer be an impediment to clocking nights. Ask your friends who have been in the Universities without this important allowance and how life has been very hard for them, with very painful effects on their academic performances. You are going for studying and NOT frequenting malls,pubs,nightclubs,spending this allowance government has given you for food on leisure; this allowance is for food,use it for such, this money can feed a whole family in some of these communities, but you are given alone.
Also,don’t take this allowance for granted young ones, Zambians are sponsoring you to be able to develop this country through an education; taxpayers are paying and the New Dawn Government is prudently channelling it to you instead of corruptly squandering it.
Go and crack those pots!!!!
APPRECIATION
Where I come from,in Monze,we say, “he who does not appreciate is an animal-a dog that barks the owner just after feeding it”.
I would like to wholeheartedly, despite having done so,severally, to the Republican President,His Excellency, Mr Hakainde Hichilema for fulfilling his promise and passion for the education of vulnerable Zambian children,the Hon.Minister of Education for ensuring this was done and the entire Cabinet as well as Provincial Ministers and all Permanent Secretaries for supporting this policy.
The New Dawn government is a child of the UPND party,and for this reason,it can not go without appreciating the party Secretary General, Mr Batuke Imenda and his team, all MPs,mayors and councilors for,once again, fulfilling one of the key manifesto components. I extend my appreciation to the youth leadership of the ruling party,for this milestone that borders on young people’s future.
Lastly but not the least,I would also like to appreciate all other stakeholders involved as well as Zambians for their vote in 2021.
I submit…..
Dr.Chimuka Simoonga.