MHRC meets over Malawi public ‘varsity closures

Officials from the Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) say they will be meeting next week to find ways of forcing authorities open public universities.

this follows a petition that Youth and Society presented to MHRC last week.

MHRC chairman Justin Dzonzi said the commissioners will meet to see if the case is within its jurisdction or not and how best they should assist on the issue.

“We are treating this as an urgent matter and we will handle it as such,” he said.

He said MHRC has legal powers to force the government open the universities if its is established and proved that the closure is an infringement of students right to education.

“We want MHRC to hold the government accountable to the rights of its citiens to education,” he said.

The government closed Chancellor College, Poytechnic, Mzuzu University, Natural Resources College and Malawi University of Science and Technology on various reasons.

Youth and Society executive director Charles Kajoloweka said his organisation would mobilise people for a vigil at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe if the public universities remain closed.

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