Commerce Deputy Minister Miles Sampa has proposed the formation of a Student Trust Bank to address the challenges on student bursaries.
Mr Sampa said the Student Trust Bank will hold funds for and on behalf of current and future first year students. He said a Bank approach as opposed to an ordinary Trust fund is better given that a Trust Bank will be able to multiply or grow the seed capital faster as it will offer various commercial services like FOREX and funds transfers.
Mr Sampa said the Bank would be managed by a Board of Trustees that would include students and former students.
“All former University of Zambia (UNZA) or Copperbelt University (CBU) former students or graduates must deposit K100, 000 into this bank right away, in the near future or when able. I say this because nearly all former students benefited from the government bursary or sponsorship funds which have not been repaid despite having signed loan forms or undertaking to pay back after graduation,” Mr Sampa said.
“Why the amount K100, 000”? My calculation is that the net present value of government sponsorship of all former graduates is about that much. For example, if we take graduates of 1984; the annual fees then were around K25. The average student spends about 4 years in university before they graduate. Therefore a total of about K100 was spent by the government of the day on that student. If we translate K25 of 1984 to 2014, my estimation is a net present value of K25, 000.”
He added, “In other words, K25 in 1984 would buy one a small basic car (Spacio type) and to buy the same car in 2014, one needs K25, 000. A graduate would have had that amount as student sponsorship per year and thus equals to K100, 000 as total for the entire average 4 years spent at the University. Once this student debt is crystallized or called in now, it means all well-meaning graduates from UNZA and CBU owe the Zambian Government K100, 00.”
Mr Sampa who is also Matero PF MP said the new university entrants can benefit from this and not miss out on higher education.
“I understand that not all graduates can afford the repayment as some don’t have jobs yet or are not yet in well-paying jobs – fair enough. This category of graduates can pay in due course through a small percentage yearly. My keen interest is on those graduates that cannot afford to pay this instant as can be attested by any reasonable citizen.”
“Off the cuff, I can list 10 former UNZA students that can pay K100,000 each and raise a total of K1,000,000 into this proposed Student Trust Bank so it opened immediately to the urgently address the student needs out there.” My immediate 10 are:
1. Dr Tukiya Mabula Kankasa – Deputy Governor BOZ
2. Chisha Mwanakatwe- Director BOZ
3. Dr Francis Chipimo Director BOZ
4. Mr Joseph Chikolwa MD ZNBS
5. Mr Saviour Chibiya MD Barclays Bank
6. President Mike Mulongoti
7. President Edith Nawakwi
8. President Hakainde Hichilema.
9. Dr Patrick Matibini – The Speaker
10. Miles Sampa, MP (student advocate).
I am tempted to list another list of 10 so we have K2,000,000 raised for this Student Trust Bank.
1. Judge Mumba Malila -Supreme Court
2. Mr Musa Mwenye -Attorney General
3. Mr Mutembo Nchito-DPP.4.
4. Hon Felix Mutati-MP
5. Mr Frazer Chishimba- Lawyer
6. Mr Martin Simumba- Businessman
7. Hon Cornelias Mweetwa-MP
8. Hon Garry Nkombo- MP
9. Hon Chifumu Banda-MP
10. Dr J.Ngwati Phiri – Education Minister.
Mr Sampa said once all the above 20 former graduates suggested above pay up voluntarily, this bank can be operational instantly and rekindle hope for all those students whose dreams may have been shattered when denied bursaries.
“Advance apologies to any of those listed above if offended but if not, please give me a call so we can do what we can to help. Any other former UNZA or CBU graduates touched by the current student predicament are welcome to join the initiative as well. We can easily raise the list of former University students willing to 100 and raise K10, 000,000 so we can make this idea a reality today and not tomorrow,” Mr Sampa said.
I agree. All former UNZA and CBU Students should start paying back money spent on them by the government through monthly deductions.
The $25,000 dollar certificate Miles took at Harvard Kennedy School would have paid for a student entire education at UNZA. Leaders need to stop being selfish then we can start to progress as a nation.
Miles Sampa, this is like chasing the wind. Now is not the time to start thinking of that even if its a good idea. Now is the time for government to find the money quickly to solve the problem at hand then implement the system later.
Why have you left out Mulenga Sata on the list. Be careful because some of the people you mentioned were educated under Kaunda’s free education system.
Besides, those were bursaries not student loans. I do not remember signing any where where it said I had to pay the money back although I like the idea.
PF no plan.
Lima Bank all over again. It never worked due to to its charitable status so farmers took advantage by defaulting? Same thing will happen here as well.
@Nonzelu? grow a brain.. you do not have to critisize everything for the sake..
@Halenya
Those students stranded need solutions now not suggestions which wont even take root this year.
Sampa should tell his stupid PF government to find a temporal soultion now so that students can go to school now.
That suggestion of his is good but can not be hushed through now because the bursaries Sampa is referring to were not student loans but educational grants. Grant are not repayable by definition.
If people will donate, then they will be doing it out their good will not that they will be fulfilling any bursary contractual obligations.
So halenya get it in thick head.
Sampa should lead by example, by sponsoring students from matero first so we see how genuine he is.
How many has he sponsored before?
I can see him being the next president.
Remember who told you this first.
Thanks
Looks like they haven’t really thought this out through. ..clearly policies hastily done on a cigarette pack.
Of course dunderhead, this is a mere proposal from one man; a good idea though.
I wonder why most of us cannot think like Miles. If we had 10 people of this kind, we would have more hospitals, schools and no street kids.
For President
Much as this proposal sounds good, Miles Sampa should not try to appear to be smarter than his colleagues in the PF government. Is he saying the proposed student loan by PF is hogwash? Miles should not be seen to be working against a government of which he is part and parcel. Or, is he trying to be populist? If his earnings are more than K100,000, he should not think all CBU and UNZA graduates are earning the same as or more than himself.
The DOC you are just selfish why should you be negative from the word go learn to share in society my man.
The guy has listed possible names here to start with and I for one, I don’t like Miles Sampa but this idea he has brought up looks good on paper and we need technocrats/academicians to think it through and add meat to this proposal. On top of this of course government must do more to sponsor brighter brains to higher institutions. This trust fund/ bank must be named after that poor girl who they denied a brighter future at an expense of barbaric by-elections that have gobbled more money in the history of Zambia’s democracy. From now onwards no more by-elections apart from Masuba’s who’s gratuity must be channelled towards this bank for faking his qualifications.
It is the duty of Government to provide tuition from the Taxi payers money . A loan scheme is good but should not be extended to the poor of the poorest. A loan is good to those students with capacity to payback or else it will be a lose making venture with the un employment rate in Zambia.an education Bank is a well come idea but it must applied together with a bursary and loan scheme because the universities have students form different economic back ground. There is need to classify the students and Government should offer alternatives to suit the needs of students.
Yes all of us who were sponsored by government must pay back. A life did not need to have been lost to realise this. That girl who killed herself is a true Hero. Her life should not be lost in vein.
On another note, Mushota seems to have a “ting” for Miles Sampa. I am sure she can give the young man the “ting” if he asked.
If one day I hear that Hon M. Sampa is the next president me I will not be surprised because the man is passionate about other people really its Miles for presidency he not like this HH who always boast of being rich but his riches does not rich to the poor GO Miles Go !
@ Evans pliz stop lying HH donated his resources to bury the lady who commited suicide last weak and your sampa and PF didn’t help in any way.HH sponsers a lot of stuednts at UNZA and CBU who are not his relatives.HH paid for medical fees for UNZA stundent who stubbed by police during riot at UNZA.The list is endless.what about food and blackets donated to homeless kitwe citizen.Many cows were sloughtered at chiluba’s funeral were from HH’s farm.HH will never be thanked because he is TONGA.But God who sees from the heart will reward him.
@Sido mark
HH is already sponsoring over 30 students in various institutions of learning including UNZA.
If those guys Sampa is talking about can also start by sponsoring at least 15 students each , all those stranded students would go to school.
What about Dr. Kaseba, Prof. Elywn Chomba, Prof. Nkandu Luo, Dr. Simon Miti, Ambassador Dr. Mwaba Kasese, and Yamfwa Mukanga just to mention a few more?
TKZ its fine all are invited the list is endless
Spot on my bro. HH has no problem contrition as long as most greedy PF guys like the kambwilies and all the prominent PF pay back.
Come on PF lead by example be the first ones to donate.
This Guy has got brains, this is a good initiative.
big up Miles
Miles, the only reason i like you is that you make proposals or suggestions which are very practical. Despite all your weaknesses (like on skirts), i give you high marks here (A+). As an anonymous UNZA graduate, i offer K1,000 monthly which will translate to K12,000 per year for 5 yrs = K60,000.
But for DPP, may be you are wrong coz i think he is broke……!!!
Any sane person will support this ….
Any Sane and normal person will support this …
If the pic displayed by mushota is indeed her true likeness, I would not mind, hitting mushota’s thing…! No kisses, as I know what mushota does to her muzungu wosauka.
@ Evans please learn to appreciate other peoples contributions to society. HH has done and does a lot to this society. If you want him to become popularist, then you are missing the point. The man has real people he sponsors all the way to University. He has an established channel he uses to sponsor people directly. The fact that he does not publicise what he does, makes him no villain. The proposal by Miles sounds good on paper but wont work. Tell me how the model will sustain itself? There is a culture of Zambians not paying back loans, how will they manage under this arrangement? This is a nice dream but it is a concrete Eagle which cant fly. Nice try though. Those who have been sponsored by HH please come to his defence. Vultures are about to devour his lungs.
The stark difference between The Minister of Youth and Miles is in the approach. Mr Kambwili was quick to issue a depressing and very unhelpful statement on the way forward regarding the deficit bursary support while Miles has taken time to think through the issue and has laid on the table what he believes is the solution. That shows leadership and is encouraging. Having said that, this is a business proposition and you do not go to town naming prospective investor individuals without first having consulted them in such a sensitive matter and offer an apology in advance in case you have injured them. It may not be accepted; like an incident with a Congolese some years back who retorted ” Your sorry I have heard; but why did you step on me?”
He deserves to minister of youth and sports
While the idea sounds good, at this point, implementing this is in Zambia will be a nightmare. What UNZA, CBU, Everlyn Hone, NIPA and so on need are a strong alumni presence. Through an alumni network funds can be created for specific purposes. Whether or not I received financial aid or not is out of question. I may just want to contribute as an appreciation for having gone through the school. Yesterday, I signed an agreement with my former university so that they can directly withdraw $45.00 a month from my bank account. I designated the contribution to benefit International students of African Origin. Alumni Networks can certainly do wonders. Universities therefore, have to employ people who are totally dedicated to alumni affairs, sell alumni products, promote books and so on…
First priority is a full scholarship based on merit. The second priority is loan schemes. Student loans generally begin and end at guarantor level. One possible guarantor is MOE and the second guarantor must belong to the family circles. In the banking sector, players are joining the financial sector freely and willingly because of profit. Banking for humanitarian or for political causes is likely to face economic challenges. The Vatican Bank and Green Bank can serve as examples.
THE REAL ISSUE IS JUST ABOUT MANAGEMENT OF ANY MONEY BY THIS GOVT.
THE CURRENT TAX REGIME TAKES CARE OF TAXING THE EFFECT OF EDUCATION AND NOT THE PERSON.
WHATS WRONG WITH EVERYBODY ?
Like I commented last time,Miles Sampa means well. He is not a blocked brain like Kambwili who crosses ministerial boundaries to appear knowledgeable and comment on any flying insect.
Miles Sampa has a passionate and visionary stance of seeing to it that other people feel to be human beings again by giving them a life.
The other day he helped youths with an initiative of taxis.Not long from there he helped constituency women with K100 000 from the CDF vote. This time around,he has brought a good idea which requires to be expanded and supported.
You removed Fuel and Maize subsidies where is the money????
how i wish pf had more than one of such kind, i bet we would have gone far with our nation interns of development
but kambwili , and who is this mmm amm john phiri and others i wont mention for them thinking is an abomination they just utter their words irrespective of who is going to be affected
….hoping the funds will not support the by-election, whatever they are called. Problem in Zambia is too much thieving. Some people may have already started planning how they will steal the money if at all this works out. Recently I met a colleague abroad who told me that generally Zambians are good people the problem with they are dishonesty, they like sex too much which leads them to cheating and corruption while pretending to be Christians.
All these proposals sound great to the mouth but frankly are impracticable. Zambia is not a rich nation and copper is not oil. Let us do the math, can Zambia survive to give socialistic handouts to students or the extremely poor? Answer is NO. The only sustainable option is that there must be an SI that restricts the number of children a family can have based on the income they earn and the longevity of the income.
Interesting proposal there about restricting the number of children one can have. Actually, Zambia needs more people. We need more people who can contribute to the economy through agriculture, start up businesses, tourism, culture, music and so on. We need more people who are going to be consumers of these products and services too. If you restrict families then we would have to start importing people from Congo or Nigeria to come and help us contribute to the economy.
Restricting of children per family is a double-edged sword but I would rather look at the positives as stated by Choma Maanu. What has propelled countries like India, USA and China is the large population which has created a consumption base for their industries. Andrew Sardanis had started with Baby Bonds through Meridien Management Services at Kembendekela House but Zambians never paid attention until the vultures in MMD closed his bank and feasted on his properties. By now people that had invested in Baby Bonds would be redeeming them and paying for college education. Miles Sampa’s suggestion is just a skeleton – there is no meat per se but I ‘m afraid we might just be creating another Ponzi Scheme which will not be self-sustaining. Read my article on Funding Tertiary Education.
@Oyaya
Good point there. In fact, we can increase our population and they don’t even need to have useless degrees or fully literate. However, these people can he economically empowered such that farmers, traders, etc in Mapanza can have economic activity in the area. They do not need to come to Choma to bank. Remember, investment follows where there is economic activity. The question is how do we ensure that the people of Mapanza have these services within the geographical area which seems to be a pattern around the country?
Reminds me of the fire brigade who only come when the house is on fire to put out the fire. The desperation by the deputy minister is much exemplified by him naming individuals without their consent. I can understand the man is from a banking background but to me this still lacks the full details of implementation. About 2004 or so I wrote an article for the Post Newspaper on ‘Funding Tertiary Education in Zambia’ which also appeared in the Accountant Magazine. I gave a prognosis of how to resolve this dilemma but no one in the MMD government listened to me. I can e mail this article to anyone interested in reading it. Students need the funding now and not tomorrow. It is a travesty that government has not provided tax advantaged investments vehicles for college education.
@Oyaya
Please email the article to Lusakatimes so they can publish it. [email protected]
@Choma Maanu
As stated it was written in 2003 or 2004 so I will need to update some of the data I had used before e mailing it to them. I will certainly do. Thank you for the email mudaala!
Bursaries, Grants, Student loans you name it , all need a total over haul in Zambia. Miles has practical proposal. I think there is need to make Bursaries Committee in to a board that should carter for all Zambian. Revolving Trust Fund. In USA, We have the largest student loan debt than any other in the country in the world.
There is need for private Banks in Zambia to offer student loans at low rate to working Zambians who wish to pursue high education. There is need for more scholarships and fellowships to help poor Zambian. Every corporate entity in Zambia should be required to set up a scholarship fund as part of the corporate social role.
the idea sounds ok but graduates will have to be assured of employment otherwise, it will be poinless starting such a trust….
Well, it doesn’t sound like a bad idea. I would also propose that every individual who passed through either UNZA or CBU must make a monthly contribution of at least K100 per month to help fund the activities of these institutions. The deductions must be done through the payslip. These institutions need huge resources if they are to operate effectively. They cannot relay on funding from the Treasury only.
Just stop wasting money on by-elections, bloated PF cabinet, huge international delegations and corruption at RDA which inflates the cost of building roads instead of crying over spilled milk and you will have all the money you need to sponsor all students.