The Ministry of Education has dismissed claims that a recent increase in UNZA student accommodation allowances was intended to influence voters ahead of the August 13 election.
Rebutting a Political Motive Claim
The Ministry of Education has pushed back on remarks by Professor Nason Ngoma, former Vice-Chancellor of the Copperbelt University, who suggested that President Hakainde Hichilema’s recent adjustment of accommodation allowances for government-sponsored UNZA students was timed to influence voters. In a statement, Ministry of Education Permanent Secretary for Educational Services Dr Kelvin Mambwe said the intervention was necessitated by UNZA’s own revision of accommodation fees, which had left government-sponsored students covering the gap between the new charges and their existing allowance.
Dr Mambwe said government had been working on the matter for some time as part of its commitment to student welfare, and that the announcement represented a direct response to concerns raised by students and other stakeholders over accommodation affordability, rather than an election-timed gesture. He noted that the timing coincided with the university’s reopening, when students needed the support most, adding that no student should have their education disrupted over financial hardship.
Part of a Broader Pattern
The allowance increase, which raised accommodation support from K3,900 to K5,850, has already drawn mixed reaction from students and commentators, with some framing it as a genuine welfare intervention and others questioning its timing so close to polling day. It follows a broader pattern under the current administration of reinstating and expanding student financial support, including the 2023 restoration of meal allowances scrapped by the previous government in 2019, and a steady increase in bursaries issued through the Higher Education Loans and Scholarships Board.
Sources: News Diggers
