/** * Nyasa Times category archive H1 cleanup. * Removes "Category:" / "Category archives:" style headings * and replaces key category headings with SEO-friendly names. */ add_filter( 'get_the_archive_title', function( $title ) { if ( ! is_category() ) { return $title; } $term = get_queried_object(); if ( ! $term || empty( $term->slug ) ) { return $title; } $titles = array( 'news' => 'Latest Malawi News', 'national' => 'Malawi National News', 'politics' => 'Malawi Politics News', 'business' => 'Malawi Business & Economy News', 'sports' => 'Malawi Sports News', 'education' => 'Malawi Education News', 'health' => 'Malawi Health News', 'entertainment' => 'Malawi Entertainment News', 'columns' => 'Malawi Opinion & Analysis', 'religious-news' => 'Malawi Religion & Faith News', 'religion' => 'Malawi Religion & Faith News', ); if ( isset( $titles[ $term->slug ] ) ) { return $titles[ $term->slug ]; } return single_cat_title( '', false ); }, 99 ); /** * Remove WordPress archive prefixes. */ add_filter( 'get_the_archive_title_prefix', '__return_empty_string' ); /** * Nyasa Times AIOSEO category title overrides. */ add_filter( 'aioseo_title', function( $title ) { if ( ! is_category() ) { return $title; } $term = get_queried_object(); if ( ! $term || empty( $term->slug ) ) { return $title; } $seo_titles = array( 'news' => 'Latest Malawi News | Breaking Updates & Public Interest Stories | Nyasa Times', 'national' => 'Malawi National News | Latest Local & Public Affairs | Nyasa Times', 'politics' => 'Malawi Politics News | Government, Parliament & Elections | Nyasa Times', 'business' => 'Malawi Business News | Economy, Banking, Trade & Jobs | Nyasa Times', 'sports' => 'Malawi Sports News | Football, Netball & National Teams | Nyasa Times', 'education' => 'Malawi Education News | Schools, Universities & Exams | Nyasa Times', 'health' => 'Malawi Health News | Hospitals, Public Health & Medicine | Nyasa Times', 'entertainment' => 'Malawi Entertainment News | Music, Culture & Events | Nyasa Times', 'columns' => 'Malawi Opinion & Analysis | Columns & Commentary | Nyasa Times', 'religious-news' => 'Malawi Religion & Faith News | Churches & Community | Nyasa Times', 'religion' => 'Malawi Religion & Faith News | Churches & Community | Nyasa Times', ); if ( isset( $seo_titles[ $term->slug ] ) ) { return $seo_titles[ $term->slug ]; } return $title; }, 99 ); /** * Nyasa Times category meta descriptions for AIOSEO. */ add_filter( 'aioseo_description', function( $description ) { if ( ! is_category() ) { return $description; } $term = get_queried_object(); if ( ! $term || empty( $term->slug ) ) { return $description; } $descriptions = array( 'news' => 'Latest Malawi news, breaking updates, public-interest stories, community developments and national reports from Nyasa Times.', 'national' => 'Read Malawi national news, public affairs, local updates, government services and community stories from Nyasa Times.', 'politics' => 'Latest Malawi politics news, elections, Parliament, government decisions, party updates, policy debate and analysis from Nyasa Times.', 'business' => 'Read Malawi business news, economy, banking, trade, investment, energy, agriculture, jobs and market updates from Nyasa Times.', 'sports' => 'Latest Malawi sports news, football, netball, athletics, clubs, national teams and Malawian athletes at home and abroad.', 'education' => 'Malawi education news on schools, universities, exams, scholarships, teachers, students, policy updates and learning developments.', 'health' => 'Malawi health news on hospitals, public health, disease outbreaks, medicine, maternal health, children’s health and health policy.', 'entertainment' => 'Malawi entertainment news on music, culture, film, fashion, celebrities, festivals, events and creative industry updates.', 'columns' => 'Read Malawi opinion, columns, editorials and analysis on politics, governance, business, society, leadership and development.', 'religious-news' => 'Malawi religious news, church updates, faith events, Christian community stories, religious leaders and social impact coverage.', 'religion' => 'Malawi religious news, church updates, faith events, Christian community stories, religious leaders and social impact coverage.', ); if ( isset( $descriptions[ $term->slug ] ) ) { return $descriptions[ $term->slug ]; } return $description; }, 99 ); /** * Display category description before the article list * when the theme does not output it. */ add_action( 'loop_start', function( $query ) { if ( ! is_category() || ! $query->is_main_query() || is_admin() ) { return; } static $shown = false; if ( $shown ) { return; } $shown = true; $description = category_description(); if ( empty( trim( wp_strip_all_tags( $description ) ) ) ) { return; } echo '

'; echo wp_kses_post( $description ); echo '

'; } );/** * NYASA TIMES SEO + ARCHIVE FIX * */ if ( ! defined( 'ABSPATH' ) ) { exit; } /** * ------------------------------------------------------- * 1. CATEGORY CONFIGURATION * ------------------------------------------------------- */ function nyasa_category_seo_data() { return array( 'news' => array( 'h1' => 'Latest Malawi News', 'title' => 'Latest Malawi News | Breaking Updates & Public Interest Stories | Nyasa Times', 'desc' => 'Latest Malawi news, breaking updates, public-interest stories, community developments and national reports from Nyasa Times.', ), 'national' => array( 'h1' => 'Malawi National News', 'title' => 'Malawi National News | Latest Local & Public Affairs | Nyasa Times', 'desc' => 'Read Malawi national news, public affairs, local updates, government services and community stories from Nyasa Times.', ), 'politics' => array( 'h1' => 'Malawi Politics News', 'title' => 'Malawi Politics News | Government, Parliament & Elections | Nyasa Times', 'desc' => 'Latest Malawi politics news, elections, Parliament, government decisions, party updates, policy debate and analysis from Nyasa Times.', ), 'business' => array( 'h1' => 'Malawi Business & Economy News', 'title' => 'Malawi Business News | Economy, Banking & Markets | Nyasa Times', 'desc' => 'Read Malawi business news, economy, banking, trade, investment, energy, agriculture, jobs and market updates from Nyasa Times.', ), 'sports' => array( 'h1' => 'Malawi Sports News', 'title' => 'Malawi Sports News | Football, Netball & National Teams | Nyasa Times', 'desc' => 'Latest Malawi sports news, football, netball, athletics, clubs, national teams and Malawian athletes at home and abroad.', ), 'education' => array( 'h1' => 'Malawi Education News', 'title' => 'Malawi Education News | Schools, Universities & Exams | Nyasa Times', 'desc' => 'Malawi education news on schools, universities, exams, scholarships, teachers, students, policy updates and learning developments.', ), 'health' => array( 'h1' => 'Malawi Health News', 'title' => 'Malawi Health News | Healthcare & Public Health | Nyasa Times', 'desc' => 'Malawi health news on hospitals, public health, disease outbreaks, medicine, maternal health, children’s health and health policy.', ), 'entertainment' => array( 'h1' => 'Malawi Entertainment News', 'title' => 'Malawi Entertainment News | Music, Culture & Celebrities | Nyasa Times', 'desc' => 'Malawi entertainment news on music, culture, film, fashion, celebrities, festivals, events and creative industry updates.', ), 'columns' => array( 'h1' => 'Malawi Opinion & Analysis', 'title' => 'Malawi Opinion & Analysis | Columns & Commentary | Nyasa Times', 'desc' => 'Read Malawi opinion, columns, editorials and analysis on politics, governance, business, society, leadership and development.', ), 'religious-news' => array( 'h1' => 'Malawi Religion & Faith News', 'title' => 'Malawi Religion & Faith News | Churches & Community | Nyasa Times', 'desc' => 'Malawi religious news, church updates, faith events, Christian community stories, religious leaders and social impact coverage.', ), 'religion' => array( 'h1' => 'Malawi Religion & Faith News', 'title' => 'Malawi Religion & Faith News | Churches & Community | Nyasa Times', 'desc' => 'Malawi religious news, church updates, faith events, Christian community stories, religious leaders and social impact coverage.', ), ); } /** * ------------------------------------------------------- * 2. FIX VISIBLE CATEGORY H1 * ------------------------------------------------------- * * Converts: * Category archives: Latest Malawi News * * Into: * Latest Malawi News */ add_filter( 'get_the_archive_title', function ( $title, $original_title = '', $prefix = '' ) { if ( ! is_category() ) { return $title; } $term = get_queried_object(); if ( ! $term || empty( $term->slug ) ) { return $title; } $data = nyasa_category_seo_data(); if ( isset( $data[ $term->slug ]['h1'] ) ) { return esc_html( $data[ $term->slug ]['h1'] ); } return single_cat_title( '', false ); }, 999, 3 ); /** * Remove WordPress archive prefixes. */ add_filter( 'get_the_archive_title_prefix', '__return_empty_string', 999 ); /** * ------------------------------------------------------- * 3. FIX AIOSEO CATEGORY TITLES * ------------------------------------------------------- * * Prevents titles such as: * "Malawi Latest Malawi News News..." */ add_filter( 'aioseo_title', function ( $title ) { /* * Category titles */ if ( is_category() ) { $term = get_queried_object(); if ( $term && ! empty( $term->slug ) ) { $data = nyasa_category_seo_data(); if ( isset( $data[ $term->slug ]['title'] ) ) { return $data[ $term->slug ]['title']; } } } /* * Article titles * * Converts: * Article headline - Featured News Malawi | Nyasa Times * * Into: * Article headline | Nyasa Times */ if ( is_singular( 'post' ) ) { return wp_strip_all_tags( get_the_title() ) . ' | Nyasa Times'; } return $title; }, 999 ); /** * ------------------------------------------------------- * 4. FIX AIOSEO CATEGORY META DESCRIPTIONS * ------------------------------------------------------- */ add_filter( 'aioseo_description', function ( $description ) { if ( ! is_category() ) { return $description; } $term = get_queried_object(); if ( ! $term || empty( $term->slug ) ) { return $description; } $data = nyasa_category_seo_data(); if ( isset( $data[ $term->slug ]['desc'] ) ) { return $data[ $term->slug ]['desc']; } return $description; }, 999 ); /** * ------------------------------------------------------- * 5. DISPLAY CATEGORY DESCRIPTION * ------------------------------------------------------- * * Shows the short SEO introduction above the article list. */ add_action( 'loop_start', function ( $query ) { if ( is_admin() || ! is_category() || ! $query->is_main_query() ) { return; } static $nyasa_description_shown = false; if ( $nyasa_description_shown ) { return; } $term = get_queried_object(); if ( ! $term || empty( $term->slug ) ) { return; } $data = nyasa_category_seo_data(); if ( ! isset( $data[ $term->slug ]['desc'] ) ) { return; } $nyasa_description_shown = true; echo '

'; echo '

'; echo esc_html( $data[ $term->slug ]['desc'] ); echo '

'; echo '

'; }, 5 );

Poly lecturers go on strike: University of Malawi dons demand 30% salary hike

March 21, 2016 Yamikani Yapuwa –Mana 11 Comments

Lecturers at the Malawi Polytechnic, a constituent college of the University of Malawi have from Monday downed tools demanding a 30 per cent salary increment.

According to the Polytechnic Academic Staff Committee on Welfare (PASCOW), the staff resolved to withdraw their teaching services from Monday 21 until government heeds to their call in regard to salary increment.

“We write to inform you that at the time of posting this message PASCOW has not received any communication or feedback on the demand of the salary adjustment.

“As a consequence, the PASCOW resolution of withdrawing teaching services form Monday 21 March still stands,” reads the PASCOW statement.

A visit by the Malawi News Agency (Mana) on Monday to the Polytechnic campuses situated at Chichiri in Blantyre found out that students were lingering around the corridors because there were no lecturers.

One of the lecturers who opted for anonymity confided with Mana that they will resume their duties once the university council increases their salaries by 30 percent or any percentage not less than 15.

“We are passing through financial hardships and as lecturers we got our salary increment in 2014, our salares are not coping with the current living standards because things now have gone up which is why we are pressuring the council to heed to our call,” he said.

According to the polytechnic Student Union (PSU) President, Frank Msiska the union is aware that lecturers are on strike demanding a 30 percent salary increment noting that the move is affecting them negatively considering that some students came last week and are incurring costs.

“Besides, this will disturb our academic calendar, we are urging the authorities to work on this as soon as possible so that the academic calendar is not disturbed in anyway,” he said.

Meanwhile, the PSU is meeting relevant authorities including the Vice Chancellor to assist in addressing the issue.

“We believe classes will resume once the meeting between the lecturers and the university council reaches an agreement without which the strike will be ongoing,” he lamented.

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