The University of Licungo has a total of 600 students who do not receive subsidies. Among them, 300 are located in Quelimane, while the other 300 are in Beira. There are eleven months in total, five of them belonging to the year 2022 and the remaining six belonging to the current year. Scholarship students reported facing difficulties and being unable to continue their studies. These students come from various parts of the country and come from families with financial difficulties.
The 600 students residing in Quelimane all live on limited income, which has caused difficulties with their respective owners. Given their financial constraints, they are unable to resolve these issues independently and, as a result, their academic performance can potentially be affected. As such, they seek assistance from those who have the authority to provide them with a resolution.
During an interview with our reporter, Quinita Lorindo, scholarship holder, demonstrated visible emotional distress when talking about her current situation. She expressed her concern about the financial burdens she and her fellow scholarship recipients are facing. The cost of housing, school supplies, food, transportation and other essential expenses is proving to be a daunting challenge for them, and they are unsure how to manage these costs.
A student named Henriques Duarte revealed that each scholarship holder receives around four thousand Meticais per month. While it may seem like a modest amount at first glance, Duarte explained that it provides some assistance with smaller expenses that students may incur on a regular basis.
According to the student, his daily life only revolves around studying and nothing else. Furthermore, they were subjected to various threats and other unfavorable situations. Despite this, the university did not provide housing to affected students and did not provide the necessary subsidies, as reported by the student.
João Pedro, a fellow student, recounted UniLicungo's efforts to address this issue during a recent discussion with students. According to him, the university revealed that the Ministry of Economy and Finance, acting on behalf of the central government, made more than five million meticais available for this purpose. Although payments were made, only 47 of the 600 scholarship recipients were able to receive a single month's payment.
During our investigation into this matter, our rapporteur discovered that according to a UniLicungo employee, the system displays the numbers for the amount in question, but they are not accessible for the purposes for which they are intended.
On Monday morning, a group of students gathered at the Murropué Campus, in Quelimane, holding signs that requested the disbursement of 11 months of subsidies and appealed for help from those authorized to provide them. According to the UniLicungo rectory, the cause of this issue is the inadequacy of funding in the scholarship category, which is managed by the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
UniLicungo spokesperson, Luck Injage, expressed his concern about the non-payment of scholarship students. He stated that the university is actively coordinating with the supervisory institution, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, to resolve this issue. Luck Injage emphasized that the delay in payments is the result of problems with the Public Service's payment management system. The university eagerly awaits the regularization of this situation.
According to the spokesperson, scholarships for undergraduate students are normally awarded by public educational institutions in recognition of their social responsibility towards communities, especially those in Mozambique who live in disadvantaged circumstances and require financial assistance to pursue their University education.
