By Burnett Munthali
Hundreds of secondary school learners in Thyolo will receive financial relief as the district council verifies 578 applications under the reformed Constituency Development Fund (CDF) bursary programme.
The applications cover secondary school learners across all constituencies in the district, with the verification exercise aimed at ensuring that support reaches genuine beneficiaries.
Thyolo District Commissioner (DC) Noel Dakamau said verification of secondary school applications is expected to be completed by Wednesday, while applications from Teacher Training Colleges, Health Sciences colleges, technical colleges and skills centres are expected to be verified by Friday.
Dakamau said the district bursary committee will meet after the verification exercise to approve successful applicants, with the council planning to process fee requisitions by Wednesday next week.
He said the council is moving quickly to ensure that needy learners are not forced to leave school because of unpaid fees.
Thyolo District Council Principal Education Officer Wallace Hastings Goffat said the verification process is also intended to identify genuine beneficiaries and prevent learners from receiving more than one bursary.
Thyolo Secondary School Headteacher Charles Lozani welcomed the exercise, saying many learners at the school come from vulnerable households and require financial assistance to remain in school.
Lozani said the CDF bursary programme will reduce financial pressure on parents and schools while providing much-needed support to needy learners.
The 2026 reformed CDF guidelines allocate K150 million per constituency for school bursaries and require Constituency Development Committees to vet applicants before local authorities award the bursaries.
According to the information provided, Thyolo District Council received K600 million under the reformed CDF bursary programme.
