Catholic bishop against quota system of selecting students into Malawi’s public universities
Bishop Professor John Ryan of Mzuzu Diocese of the Catholic Church has challenged the government to listen to concerns over quota system of selecting students into Malawi’s public universities.
A number of sectors criticised the system, arguing it was discriminatory in nature and perceived as a tool for suppressing students from other corners of the country, who were deemed to be having a lion’s share in the public universities.
Speaking when Mzuzu Diocese handed over a primary school block worth K48 million, in Mawende Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Mtwalo, Mzimba District with funding from German-based organisation Chancern Duch Bildung, Ryan said quota system sidelines deserving students from accessing university education.
“I was a teacher for many years and it pains me to see a student, who has done well in his/her studies, failing to reach tertially education because of the district they come from. Selection of students should be based on ability and capacity,” said Ryan.
The Bishop said denying learners opportunities to further their studies leads them into early marriages which results in high lleracy levels and over population.
“One of the problems in rural Malawi is early marriages, but if children are left to continue with their education it helps prepare them for life. If they get educated and find a job, they are in better position to make sound decisions,” Ryan said.
Mmeber of Parliament for the constituency, Harry Mkadawire, the country need to get rid of the controversial quota system of selecting students to public universities, saying it is “evil”.
State vice-president Saulos Chilima who is leading United Transformation Movement (UTM) is on record saying if voted Head of State next year, his administration will come up with a policy to ensure that government supports universities owned by religious groups to increase access to higher education and abolish quoat system.
Chilima said in doing so, there will be enough space for students across the country and in turn end the quota system.
He said said promoting quota – which demands public institutions of higher learning to select a designated number of students based on their district of origin – brings about divisions among Malawians.
When a nation loses the fear of God and the love of God, its people grope even in broad daylight. This is what is happening to Malawi; and her people who confess Jesus Christ as their example and Lord and Saviour, are the very ones who openly defy before God’s own eyes the very foundation of of their faith, namely Love of God and Love for one another, be it friends or enemies. May God save the nation from wicked hands!
Quota system is here to stay. Entry qualification to university is a minimum of six credits or at least 30 points.
At least every district must have access to university
Another misguided comment from the Catholic church. Do you people believe equality? An entire Bishop showing umbili.
Until I see empirical evidence that quota is not needed in Malawi I bet my last tambala that quota is here to stay. Put it on a referendum and let me people chose. Malawians need to comment on things that they can prove and not what they are told. There is no tribe in Malawi that has higher IQ or EQ than the other. We are all poor because we don’t have the requisite knowledge wisdom and intelligence to create worth. My nephew got 14 points koma lero Ali ku catholic university we are not bitter at all. By the… Read more »
It’s you Patrick Phiri who doesn’t understand how the quota system works in Malawi,
“if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail” Abraham Maslow. This is a case with Malawi political leaders. There solution to lack of university entry slots is to resort to impose quotas to their own people. Everything is about quotas………even with the expenditure budget of MK1,4 trillion. The north gets the least allocation. Progressive leaders would look at expanding the number of university entry slots, so that no student is left behind on the basis of where they come from; we are all Malawians after all. As UTM has suggested, maybe the solution is distance/online learning… Read more »
Cardinal Rico..
It’s clear,the Bishop doesn’t know how quota system works in Malawi. In the first place, all students who are selected to public universities meet the selection requirements. The challenge is that our public universities do not have sufficient capacity to absorb all that qualify. Secondly, quota system was established for a purpose – to enable all communities benefit from the national cake, since all communities pay tax. Perhaps what the Bishop should do is to lobby for support for government to build more universities to enable everybody who qualifies access higher education.
Here we go again quota system is back on Nyasatimes. Can I suggest one thing: let us put this topic plus others like federation, need of vice president (you see one crazy vice president will part ways with his boss just seconds after being sworn and and stay at home the whole 5 years enjoying the benefits of the vice presidency all in the name of constitutional mandate!) and rotational presidency to vote in May 2018. In some countries they combine hot topics decisions with the general elections. Let us not bury our heads in the sand pretending all is… Read more »
The Bishop should keep quiet.He doesn’t know the predicament of other students who go to public secondary schools. The Catholic Church has made education more expensive through its privatization of all secondary schools under its armpits. This Bishop must take a careful look at students who benefit from Catholic privatized secondary schools because of their parents’ financial muscle. He is Bishop for Mzuzu and I urge him to go to rural Mzimba to acquaint himself why quota system can at least accord the rural North’s students can dream of a walk in the corridors of the university. Men of the… Read more »
It shows you have no idea on how the quota system is administered
Please note that Bishop John Ryan has taught at Misuku CDSS in Chitipa, St. Patricks Seminary in Rumphi and Mzuzu University. He has grassroot knowledge and knows what he is talking about.
The Catholic merely took over the running of their schools after noting that standards in those schools were going down and that the structures were being neglected. The Catholic and government operated the schools jointly with the latter providing a specific funding. This changed after the yellow regime came to power in 1994. Funding proved problematic. The Catholic then got back their schools. To date their schools are posting very good results. The structures are good. Cases in points are St Mary’s in Zomba, Mary Mount in Mzuzu and Zomba Catholic in Zomba.
What the hell is Bishop talking about? So he is the one sponsoring Chilima right? Tell him to leave Malawi alone, this is not Italy