MILES SAMPA DISAGREES WITH KAMBILIS STATEMENT ON BURSARIES ..............it is infact the duty of government to provide a platform and ensure that there are facilities for education from primary through to university. MILES Sampa says sport and youth minister Chishimba Kambwili’s statement that it is not the duty of the government to educate people is not correct. And Edith Nawakwi says the Bursaries Committee needs a lot of scrutiny because it is beset with a lot of corruption. Meanwhile, education minister Dr John Phiri says the death of a first year UNZA student, Musankwa Makwamba who took her life after being denied a bursary, should not be used as a campaign strategy by opposition political parties. Kambwili said during UNZA Radio’s Lusaka Star programme that it was the responsibility of parents, and not government, to educate their children. But Sampa in an interview said it was the duty of government to provide a platform and ensure that there are facilities for education from primary through to university. “I do not agree with that (Kambwili’s statement); government has to provide education. Countries all over [the world] have a programme for the poor, so this programme of bursaries should meet the needs of the poor,” he said. Sampa said education was a right and a necessity to the nation and therefore deserved prioritisation. He said bursaries were meant for well-performing students who could not afford to pay university fees. “As far as I know, bursary was for the poor, and those days I was one of them. The rich would pay directly from their finance box. If the allegations are anything to go by, then it is worrying, and indeed poor students who have good results are the ones who are meant to benefit, not the well-to-do,” Sampa said. He appealed to the Ministry of Education to look into the allocation of bursaries to students to ensure fairness in the process. Sampa said allegations of nepotism in the award of bursaries must be investigated as deserving candidates will be hindered from receiving priority. On Tuesday, Kambwili called into the UNZA Radio programme, saying that the government did not have enough resources to give bursaries to all students. He added that it was not the responsibility of government to educate students, but that their parents should. “We are going to increase the bed space at UNZA and that was what was in the presidential speech, so what more do you want? Government has limited resources and by the way, it is not the responsibility of government to educate children, it is the responsibility of the parents,” said Kambwili. And when asked about a school leaver, Emmanuel Sakala, who had approached his office for assistance after being denied a bursary to study at UNZA, Sampa said: “I was particularly touched with the student, who got six points. In those days, if somebody gets six points, it was extraordinary. Most residents think we should not cut our CDF for an individual; that is the feedback I am getting, so I am trying to look for sponsorship for him.” Sampa said he would not rest until he finds resources for Sakala. And speaking after Musankwa’S burial at Mutumbi Cemetery, Nawakwi said many people have had difficulties with the Bursaries Committee. “We have all faced the corrupt tendencies of the Bursaries Committee. When a child with 11 points is turned away, you find a child with 30 points being given a bursary. Parents who are able to foot the bills for their children should be identified,” she said. Nawakwi said Dr Phiri should assure all the students that the government would offer them sponsorship. “Since the deadline is on the 26th of October, as a mother, I want to hear that the students who qualify will be given support to go to the University of Zambia,” said Nawakwi. “This is an emergency and a crisis and we should treat it with the urgency that it deserves. It is very unfortunate that we could have some of our colleagues like Kambwili taking an extreme position. If you recall, the demise of Musankwa and the the timing of Kambwili’s announcement, it is the same time, when he said government is not responsible for education of students in the country.” Musankwa of Kalingalinga Compound took her life on Tuesday after discovering that she was not appearing on the list of students that have been awarded sponsorship by the Bursaries Committee. A family representative who spoke on behalf of Musankwa’s father Mathew Makwamba said during an emotional funeral procession that the nineteen-year-old student had a passion for education. And Dr Phiri said the ministry would revisit the provisional list of students who have been awarded bursaries. Speaking in parliament yesterday in response to a question for oral answer from Choma Central member of parliament Cornelius Mweetwa, Dr Phiri cautioned against using Musankwa’s suicide for political purposes. “It won’t be right for either myself to use UNZA to propel the PF manifesto or for anyone to use it as a campaign strategy,” said Dr Phiri following Monze Central UPND member of parliament Jack Mwiimbu’s statement that Musankwa’s death reminded him of the uprising in Tunisia where a street vendor set himself ablaze, sparking the Arab Spring. And Dr Phiri said the provisional list would be revisited to look at ways of how students who were left out could be included. He called for calm among the students who had applied for the bursary scheme saying a final list of recipients would be released next week. Dr Phiri said the biggest challenge his ministry faced was that of funding which he said was not enough. “In the 2014 budget, the ministry was allocated a total of K8.599 billion out of which K6.103 billion went to personal emoluments and K2.496 billion was for non personal emoluments. The non-personal emoluments component includes GRZ and donor funds,” he said. Dr Phiri said of the non personal allocation totalling K2.496 billion, a sum of K1.651 billion was earmarked for programmes, including infrastructure development which gobbled K756.4 million, leaving a balance of K395.5 million for all other programmes and activities in the ministry at all levels. He said out of the K395.5 million, bursary allocation to students at the University of Zambia for the year stood at K91,161,997 while bursary allocation to the Copperbelt University was K42,963,182. “The University of Zambia received a supplementary allocation of K57,700,000, bringing the total allocation to the two universities for the year to K191,825,179. It should be noted that the annual allocation to the ministry for the execution of this programme was insufficient, hence the supplementary funding which was requested by the ministry. Let me re-emphasise, that the ministry has not departed from its obligation in the sponsorship of school leavers at the University of Zambia and Copperbelt University,” assured Dr Phiri.
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 08:12:09 +0000
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