There is going to be light at the end of the tunnel for thousands of Malawian students who finish secondary education but fail to make it to the University of Malawi because of space constraints.  The massive projects lined at Chancellor College would see the institution doubling its intake when phase 1 of the Hostel project is completed and triple the intake once phase 2 also completes.According to information made public at the College, Chancellor College is set to construct hostels that would accommodate 5,264 students in phase 1 alone beginning later this year.

This is enough to accommodate all students residing off campus and doubling the current intake of 5,000 students. The hostels are going to be constructed next to Chirunga stadium where a Sports village has also been earmarked. The next phase would see another 5,264 students be accommodated on campus when phase 2 of the hostels is completed. This would mean Chancellor College alone would be able to accommodate an average of 15,000 students when both phase 1 and 2 are completed. In Postgraduate, the college is going to construct hostels that would accommodate 560 students supplementing the small number that Kwacha Hostel accommodates.

The College is going to have its own commercial area that would ease students from going into town for their shopping. A shopping mall is to be constructed. The commercial area is also going to accommodate Chanco radio which currently operates in town. The institution is also going to have its own television station. Opposite the shopping mall;projects such as the Post graduate complex, E-learning and Research centre have also be lined.Some of the projects have already started; currently work to construct an E- learning centre is already underway next to Little Theatre.

The project which is financed by the World Bank is expected to be completed by December. When all these projects are finished, the landscape of Chancellor College would be remarkable.“This is positive development, you can’t be increasing intake over the current infrastructures that were built long time ago. This is a development which should have been done ten years ago” appreciated Tia Joana Mwale, a law scholar.

Meanwhile, fear has gripped landlords in Chikanda and those owning flats that their businesses might be in jeopardy. An average accommodation in Chikanda costs K10, 000 per bed for males but more than K15, 000 for ladies.

It is even more expensive when one is staying at the flats where a bed can cost you as high as K22, 000. However, there is no excitement in the projects with the current students knowing how Government projects move. “These projects are good on paper but poor at implementation. Where are all the projects that we heard about LUANAR?” argued another student Comrade Mayuni. Three years ago, Malawians were told of all the projects that were happening at Bunda and how when finished would transform Bunda into the best University in Malawi. Three years later, nothing of concrete has been achieved with the college experiencing a shortage of accommodation and teaching rooms to the extent of teaching students in tents. It is also unknown if these hostels are going to have the same set of rules as the current hostels where students are paying K8,500 for the room and not allowed to cook thereby making Chikanda accommodation cheaper than campus.

All these projects are coming at a time when University education is skyrocketing in public universities. This year the fees is pegged at K275,000 and UNIMA has witnessed the largest drop out because of the fees, yet rumours going around suggest that the fees is going to increase to K400,00 for undergraduate students. Such increased intake would be meaninglessif the drop out is not curbed. However, this new infrastructure once completed would transform Chancellor College, with its own radio and television stations, a shopping mall and a population of over 15,000; the Chirunga Community would push to have its own Member of Parliament.