Chisi raps Mutharika’s passiveness on University of Malawi crisis

Umodzi Party president John Chisi said the genesis of the problems at Chancellor College   -which was closed Tuesday evening due to students’ protests over fees hike -is President Peter Mutharika’s decision to be silent on the matter.

Chisi: Mutharika
Chisi: Mutharika should come out of cacoon

Chisi echoed what Civil Society Education Coalition (Csec) and a youth non-governmental organisation, Youth and Society (Yas), have  said  that students’ expression of discontent over the fees hike from K275 000 to a minimum of K400 000 “extremely genuine, patriotic and heroic at a time when the economy is severely anaemic and decrepit.”

Said Chisi: “He [Mutharika]  should come out of the cacoon and tell the nation what he intends to do to improve the situation. As Chancellor of the University of Malawi, the ball is in his caught.”

Chisi, a College of Medicine lecture, said Mutharika has a history of passiveness when things go out of hand at the University of Malawi citing his silence when Chancellor College was at standstill following academic freedom impasse between lectures and the government during Bingu wa Mutharika reign when the current president was Education minister.

He called on the state to drop all charges against all students at Chancellor Collage and Polytechnic describing the arrest as unfair, unjust and unreasonable.

“He run away on issues of academic freedom but he cannot run away from this, he should speak out as Chancellor,” said Chisi.

Csec executive director Benedicto Kondowe said the closure of the college depicts leadership failure on the part of government and Unima Council, adding that students were justified to express themselves against the “unmanageable fees hike”.

“The students have a legitimate concern here and our position as Csec has been clear that the increment threshold is unmanageable for the majority of Malawians. We appealed to the University Council to revise downwards the increment.

“The problem again is that as a country we allow economic factors to take centre-stage. We may be bound to make decisions that may be far worse for this country. Much as the economy is important, other factors are also important, but in our case, economic factors seem to be very important to government,” he said.

Kondowe said government’s handling of the matter will determine the action the citizenry will take against Lilongwe.

“Let us not forget that education is a powerful tool to breaking intergenerational poverty, so if education is at stake, everything else falls apart. So, it will depend on what steps government and all concerned parties will take, otherwise, if they don’t do anything, citizens will have a legitimate basis to use democratic means to pressurise authorities to re-open the college,” said Kondowe.

Yas executive director Charles Kajoloweka a urged government to stop using closure of institutions of higher learning as a tool of intimidation and abdication of its responsibility.

At least 14 Polytechnic students will appear in court today having spent the weekend in the cold police cells at Blantyre police for protesting against fee hike.

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Winston Msowoya
Winston Msowoya
7 years ago

Comeon Malawians,shake your brains.Muthalika’s reaction on University Students,is not strange as yet.You must remember when he was the Minister of both articulate Ministries,Education and Foreign Affairs under his brother’s presindency, nothing good came out of his unqualified leadership hence confusion and pandemonium at schools compound.The same Muthalika was at logger-heads with his own students at the State University of Washington State when the students demonstrated against his low teaching technics which did not impress them.As in Malawi,he has no apathy whatsoever to correct the wrongs at the Universties in the sense that his entire members of his family,are not living… Read more »

Chimunthu
Chimunthu
7 years ago

Small correction Mr Chisi: ‘the ball is in his court, not ‘caught’. Otherwise what you say is correct. The President doesn’t react to the crisis because he doesn’t know how to react. He only knows how to talk about winning the election in 2019 and continuing in power until 2024! God help Malawi if he does. As Chancellor of the University of Malawi he should be the first to react to the crisis. Shutting down Chanco doesn’t solve anything, it is the reaction one would expect of a child. He is not worthy of the honorary degrees heaped upon him,… Read more »

jussa joni
7 years ago

John Chisi!!!!!you are short lived indeed. Student paying at university started in 1985 when your dictator Kamuzu was in power. British Govt suspended scholarships in 1991 because Kamuzu became dictatorial. Know your facts. You are the one taking a moral high ground. You think you can bring Peter down……look at how many votes you got during the elections. just lecture for free and continue being bias towards northern students. We know what you do at the college of medicine. watch out

skjh
skjh
7 years ago
Reply to  jussa joni

you are a bloody liar jussa joni..whether you are a die hard of this government or what but trust me you are fooled.i am a lomwe and a COM student…chisi is not a biased individual. find someone else

Matako
Matako
7 years ago

All these mapwebvupwevu corrupt mafia got their education for free during Kamuzu who prioritized education as a the best way to develop our country. i dont know where Malawi would be today if it wasn’t for HKB.

Moya
Moya
7 years ago

Useless to have a chancellor who cant address the problems directly, fire him!!if if there is no such clause pliz include it

jussa joni
7 years ago

To Nyasa Times Reporter and John Chisi!!!!! Nobody is above the Law. University education is not cheap. If you choose to have a degree then you must pay for it PERIOD. You Chisi is a lecturer and you want the students to pay nothing for it. Are you prepared to forgo your salary / wages as well in your bizarre quest for bono university education. Shame to you Chisi. Dont talk rubbish here. If indeed you are a medical school lecturer then you might have traveled or taken / received higher qualification from either UK or USA. Did you find… Read more »

Petre Mathanyula
7 years ago
Reply to  jussa joni

Jussa Joni, you DPP fools continue to ask for cash gate money from JB, do the same on MK577bn from your inept president if indeed you are patriotic. 577bn is so enormous that Malawi would not be in financial crisis. Mbava zachabechabe. Tionana 2019.

ZILIKO
ZILIKO
7 years ago
Reply to  jussa joni

YOU are the one who is insane… Government need to come clear on this. Do a research you find out that some students were/are sleeping in classroom here at poly. These students were denied access to loan. It was only after dean of student initiated a fundraising campaign when your govt came forward to support these students. But this support is temporary. let govt come forward with permanent solution. you are saying all this coz you are not putting yourself in the shoes of these students. Many students are sleeping on empty stomach…. girls have turned to prostitution to supplement… Read more »

John chisi Prof
John chisi Prof
7 years ago
Reply to  jussa joni

I was educated for free both at Chancellor College and I got a fully paid scholarship from the British Council. Otherwise I would have never been educated as I came from a rural poor area. I know what I am taking about and I have lived it. So do not take a high moral ground

Kachepatsonga
Kachepatsonga
7 years ago
Reply to  jussa joni

You are the one that is a fool, you have talked nonsense and I don’t think you live in Malawi. Are you saying a child of a peasant farmer should not receive university education? All these leaders above 70 never paid a coin for their education. If you eat dipipi politics then you have this stinking mouth for this stupid contribution. You want everybody to come from your region to be a Malawian?

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