PF MPs deny UNZA Students loans
PF MP and Legal Council – Tutwa S Ngulube
Patriotic Front Members of Parliament on Wednesday, March 22, 2017 refussed to provide loans to vulnerable students at the University of Zambia whose families cannot afford to pay fees due to poverty.
This decision was made after Member of Parliament Garry Nkombo moved a motion to compel government to provide loans for eligible students.
Other UPND Members of parliament following their manifesto which takes education as an equalizer supported the motion and pleaded with the august house that the motion was not personal but mearnt for National survival and development.
But Hon Nkombo said financial aid to students coming from poor families is needed to allow them access higher education and attain a brighter future.
He said one of the reasons why life expectancy is low in Zambia is because of lack of education which is a direct descendant of poverty and emphasized that all over the world countries have acknowledged that it is government’s rensponsibility to ensure that no eligible student is denied access to higher education.
He gave an example of Rwanda which has given the mandate to manage student loans and bursaries to the Development Bank of Rwanda to bring in efficiency in the student loan disbursements and recovery with a focus to attain self sustaining funding.
Katuba Member of Parliament Patricia Mwashingwele added that it is traumatizing for the first year students who are in class without knowing their fate as their 1st term comes to an end.
She said that it is sad that only 2, 563 were given loans out of which 1,021 are female while 1,542 are male meaning more than half have been left out.
She urged the Minister of finance Felix Mutati to seek financial aid and provide loans to eligible students because education is a right and government has the rensponsibility to educate the youths.
Nalikwanda Member of parliament, Professor Lungwangwa said Agenda 2063 dictates that each country must find resources to educate its sons and daughters in Universities.
He said the difference among African countries will be dictated with how much each country pays attention to students in higher institutions of learning.
Professor Lungwangwa said he and many others are today educated because leaders in previous governments paid attention to education.
Despite long debates in support of the motion, there were point of orders from the Patriotic Front Members of parliament who claimed that the motion was malicious and likely that the students talked about did not exist.
This was said by Kabwe Central MP Tutwa Ngulube who told the august house that he did not support the motion because the students did not petition government through their Member of parliament Professor Nkandu Luo but instead went to Mazabuka MP Hon Nkombo and thereby claimed that it was malicious and a sponsored motion.
The speaker interjected and said “ Let’s debate subsistence either you agree or you do not agree”
Hon Ngulube apologized to Hon Nkombo but went on and said he still did not support the motion.
After voting the NO’s had it meaning no loans for students