The Central Government has retaken administration of the students’ loan scheme for needy students in public universities from the Malawi Savings Bank (MSB).

The bank has pulled out citing heavy looses because most graduates were not repaying the money.

However, the loan scheme was never going to break-even in the short term due to the nature of the four-year university education and the bank was all aware of this before it took over.

Since MSB took over, there has been skirmishes with students. Students have complained of the criteria the bank has been using to select the beneficiaries and last year Bunda College students destroyed an MSB bank branch in the process.

A press statement from the ministry of education said government has allocated funds to the National Council for Higher Learning to be disbursed as students’ loans, dispelling fears that the facility has been scrapped off.

The ministry has assured all needy students at Mzuzu University, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the University of Malawi that they will continue learning while their loans are being processed.

The ministry has appealed to authorities in the concerned public universities to allow the needy students to attend classes in the meantime.

The scheme was previously managed by government before it was entrusted with MSB, which is also a state-funded bank.