Three in 10 university students use their educational grant to buy things that they don't require for their education, according to a survey.
Because the survey question was asking the respondants whether they abuse the stipend system, this figure is likely to be even larger, says the report on the survey, which was carried out by the University Students Council (KSU).
The educational grant, given to all undergraduate students, consists of Lm600 at the beginning of the first year and an additional Lm200 yearly for the rest of the course.
Students receive the grant on a debit card (called a smart card), which should only be used on educational expenses in purchases from selected establishments.
The survey, of a representative sample of 340 students, shows that 30 per cent of them in fact spend some of the money on items other than educational requirements.
A third of those who abuse the system spend up to Lm25 for non-educational purposes, another third up to Lm50, 20 per cent up to Lm100 and 15 per cent over Lm100.
The survey analysed the effects of the Student Maintenance Grants System and the possible effects of alternative financing scenarios.
In proposals on reforming the system, the KSU describes abuse of the smart card as "relatively common", although not rampant.
"For this reason we believe that policing of the system currently in place must be enhanced."
It suggests that the merchant's point-of-sale equipment be upgraded to enable greater transparency and accountability in the system, and be supplied by the government for use with all transactions carried out in that establishment.
The merchant would be obliged to input all stock bought via barcode scanning and record the stock in a centralised, government-operated database. When the product is sold, whether via smart card or not, the sale would also be recorded in the system using the same barcode.
"Thus, the government could keep tabs on all stock and sales levels within the establishment and know exactly where smart card money is being spent, thus eliminating the possibility of abuse."
The data also shows that academic expenses vary widely between courses, prompting the KSU to say that providing all students with a uniform monetary grant introduces "several iniquities" into the system. It notes that where the cost of the study is more than the educational grant, this serves as a disincentive for students coming from lower socio-economic groups.
"On the other hand, where academic expenses are less than the provided grant, we find that regardless of this fact, students consider the money awarded to be theirs in its entirety, and consequently spend it all by the end of their studies, regardless of whether they use it for the purposes intended or not."
The KSU proposes that students should be allocated different amounts of smart card money according to the expense involved in following their particular course, although the global amount of money made available by the government should not be reduced.
Under the maintenance grants system, university students also receive a "social grant" of Lm60, while post-secondary students receive Lm40, with proven cases of financial hardship being awarded double those amounts.
The survey found that 26 per cent of students spend most of this stipend on education, while 22 per cent spend it on transport and 18 per cent on leisure. Sixteen per cent save it and 11 per cent spend it on "other things" (which the KSU says mainly include paying a loan, buying clothes or buying computer-related equipment). A small percentage use it mainly to rent a flat.
In addition to the social grant, Lm30 a month is given to students in a long list of courses deemed to be of economic need, ranging from public policy to information technology.
Financing of higher education is currently under review within a task force set up by the government. The KSU has made it clear it will not accept any reform intended to reduce the subsidies given to students, although it would support changes aimed at making them sustainable over the long term.