By Bishop Witmos

Mangochi, October 1, Mana: Higher Students’ Loans and Grants Board (HESLGB) has released a provisional list of loans for higher education students for the 2024/2025 academic year, which is pegged at K 29.4 billion.

Making the announcement at a press conference in Mangochi on Tuesday, Chairperson for the Loans and Grants Disbursement Committee, Dr. Henry Chingaipe said that out of the total budget, K28 billion was for students in eight public universities, covering tuition fees and upkeep, while K I.3 billion is for students in 21 private universities.

He said that the Board received 29, 813 loans application from students in 29 public and private higher education institutions, and out of that 28,883 applicants met the eligibility criteria.

“Upon rigorous assessment of the applications, 28,883 applicants met the eligibility criteria, representing 96.9 percent of the loan applicants, and it is a 10.8 percent increase from the number of students that were given loans in the 2023/2024 academic year.

“Of the total number 18,840 are male, and 10,043 are female, representing a gender gap of 30.2 percent,” the Chairperson said.

Chingaipe appreciated the commitment and funding by government, saying that out of the K 29 billion, government has allocated a total of K 24 Billion to the Loan Fund in the 2024/2025 National Budget to support the needy and deserving students.

“The Board appreciates the continued commitment and funding from the government in the efforts to bridge the gap between the poor and the rich in accessing higher education in Malawi,” he said.

The Board has provisionally approved a list of applicants under Skills for a Vibrant Economy project, of 944 applicants from seven accredited institutions.

Contribution of the Skills for Vibrant Economy (SAVE) project face to face for this year is 575,000.

“We would like to thank the World Bank for providing resources under the skills for vibrant economy project, through the HESLGB loan fund to support students from first year (2023/2024) for the duration of their study program in the areas of education, health industry, information and technology for this year,” Chingaipe said.

He said that the list of names of approved students would be available in universities, as well as at the Board’s online page.