Chilima intervenes on Unversity of Malawi delinking issue

Vice President Saulos Chilima has intervened in a matter the University of Malawi council decided to delay the delinking process of the University of Malawi colleges.

Some Malawians expressed concern over the decision by the council after parliament approved the delinking process for efficiency and effectiveness of public universities.

On Tuesday morning in Lilongwe, Chilima met the Council of the University of Malawi to discuss the resolution made by the Council to review the delinking of the university.

The meeting agreed on tasks assigned to stakeholders to guide further discussions on the issue.

Government says communication on outcome of the meetings will be made public after all due consultations are done.

Chilima came to the meeting in his capacity as minister responsible for economic planning  and development and public sector reforms.

Minister of Education Agnes NyaLonje; and officials from the department of statutory corporations also attended the meeting held in Lilongwe.

The University Council said in a statement it was reversing the process of separating the constituent colleges of the Unima, namely Chancellor College, College of Medicine, The Polytechnic and Kamuzu College of Nursing on the grounds that the decision to unbundle was made outside the mandate of both the council and senate.

Malawi Law Society president Burton Mhango said the council’s decision to reverse the unbundling process has no legal basis since Parliament ratified an Act to facilitate the delinking process.

He said: “An Act of Parliament is above any decision that the council can make. The decision made by the council cannot have any effect on the decision made by Parliament. The decision to delink the universities was formalised.

“For that decision to be rescinded, it will have to go back to Parliament for a subsequent amendment or repealing the previous legislation [which authorised the delinking process].”

Concurring with Mhango, the Civil Society Education Coalition (Csec) in a statement signed by its executive director Benedicto Kondowe and board chairperson Jennipher Mkandawire said the council’s decision sets a wrong precedent