Malawi Chancellor college classes resume Jan.7
The administration of Chancellor College one of the constituent colleges of the University of Malawi is strongly denying reports that the institution is closed.
Recent media reports had indicated that the institution was closed due to financial problems and students who were on Chritsmas holiday were recalled to take their luggage back home until the college reopens.
But the Senior Assistant Registrar of the college Elias Chizimba said the issue is that the institution was going on an extended holiday.
He says ordinarily when the academic year starts it normally has about 15 weeks of classes followed by a mid semester break.
“But this year it was unique in the sense that we didn’t have mid-year semester break instead we pushed it at the end of the academic year. So we thought people should leave on the 27th come back after two weeks. But people misinterpreted this as a closure of the college,” he says.
Chizimba says the students were recalled to collect their belonging from the institution because of fear of incidents of robbery that are rampant during holidays at the college.
“You know this is an open campus, people walk in and out and have been breakages cases of hostels and we felt that if they leave their luggage for two weeks what will happen? Basically we are telling them to collect their luggage because we are looking at the security of their belongings,” Chizimba says.
For the past three weeks the students have been boycotting classes because of unpaid book and accommodation allowances which was attributed to delays by government and Eco bank to remit the funds.
But Chizimba says the problems of funding have currently been sorted out.
“Government has given us which we requested. Understandably the allowance delayed because government and Ecobank dilly dallied giving us the money and we even told them this was affecting the students. And I am glad to report that about two days ago the same has been paid to students,” says Chizimba.
Chancellor College Academic Staff Union (Ccasu) president Sunduzwayo Madise also confirmed clasess will resume January 7.
Meanwhile the students are being invited to report to the college on January 6 for classed which resumes on Monday January 7.
In press releases issued Friday by the college’s registrar the allowances for students for meals and will be loaded into respective Malswitch cards Friday January 4.
He says the college bus will be available from Saturday, January 5 , to ferry students from the Zomba Bus Depot.
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