Malawi private universities offering law degree ordered to stop —Ombudsman

All private universities offering law degree programmes in the country have been ordered  to stop immediately by the Office of the Ombudsman following a complaint filed by law students from privately-owned Blantyre International University (BIU) and Share World University.

Ombudsman; Martha Chizuma : Follow the dictates of the law

Ombudsman Martha Chizuma  in her determination made on Friday  said the institutions providing law degree programmes are doing it illegally and  should only resume after legal impediments are dealt with.

The determination who queried the non-accreditation of their law programmes by the National Council for Higher Education (Nche).

Chizuma dismissed suggestions that Nche was engaging in unfair practices by revoking accreditation of law degree programmes offered by the two institutions.

She said: “The law programme that was being offered by Share World University and BIU was never accredited from the start.

“This is not because the law prohibits the two universities from offering the law programme for study, but rather because the Malawi Council for Legal Education [MCLE], which is legally mandated to provide technical guidance through regulation of syllabus and curriculum before accreditation of the programme, has to date only done so for the law programme at the University of Malawi [Unima] Chancellor College.

“Much as I truly sympathise with the complainants herein and others in similar situation some of whom are actually in my office, any law programme being offered by any other university in the country is being illegally offered and will result to nought. The qualification attained is not a law degree and the so-called graduates cannot be called lawyers.”

Malawi Law Society (MLS)  through its honorary secretary Martha Kaukonde has since welcomed the Ombudsman’s determination and  asked tertiary institutions seeking to offer law programmes to comply with the dictates of the law.

Ombudsman has given chance to any party with sufficient interest in the matter to seek a review in the High Court of Malawi within 90 days.

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Matongo
Matongo
5 years ago

BIU is one joke of a school. It only breeds mahule.

Sammi
5 years ago

Any law program needs accreditation, to ensure it meets the needs of Malawi law and graduates are prepared rigourously and thoroughly.we need highly intelligent people in all professions including law. Lawyers do no just represent criminals but those who have been injured and businesses to ensure they operate within the law.
Lawyers are highly regarded in every country but just like any other profession rouge elements to infiltrate.

Mukhakiwa
Mukhakiwa
5 years ago
Reply to  Sammi

Then Chanco Law School must be closed forthwith. Chanco is not accredited until now. What a joke? This is indeed a shithole country. Mbudzi ndi mbava zaku NCHE zikuphelera Chanco yakoyo. The college is offering illegal degrees my friend.

Mirella K
Mirella K
5 years ago
Reply to  Sammi

I delete law to read ”Any program…” Zikomo wawa

Mukhakiwa
Mukhakiwa
5 years ago

Only in Malawi. Pathetic! What’s going on in this country?

Kalaya
5 years ago

Some really skewed reasoning from the ombudsman. But interesting that it’s the students who initiated this 🙂

Mtenzi Mzungu
Mtenzi Mzungu
5 years ago

At this time of the century a country by the name of Malawi has one college which is offering law degree yet the country has a population of nearly 20 million. This is a clear sign that the country is very backward. To my surprise some idiots think this is normal. They say we should all go to chance to learn law. Check around our neighbors. There is no point to put in deliberately a policy to limit law education. I agree with College of medicine because they deal with someone life not law. Law is even offered by correspondence… Read more »

Banj
5 years ago
Reply to  Mtenzi Mzungu

Mtenzi mzungu + pitala professor at law by correspondence + chaponda yale at law by correspondence ====result failed service delivery —follow proper channels in education not shortcuts please !!

tuntufye
tuntufye
5 years ago
Reply to  Mtenzi Mzungu

Law deals with people s lives too. one single mistake someone can be hanged or be killed due to legal or judicial mistakes. Am I the only dull person here?

Mukhakiwa
Mukhakiwa
5 years ago
Reply to  tuntufye

Offcourse

Mundali
Mundali
5 years ago

The ruling insulates theieves that graduate from Chancellor that it be only them stealing. The implementation of the Act is led by them, the ruling made by one of them everything by one of them. Need for a mass demonstration. Because of love for money it is only the poor who get imprisoned.

Nancy Pelosi
5 years ago

How about the Catholic University of Malawi which is offering Law. Does it fall under the same category of not being recognised. I have heard some students commending the institution as offering even a better Law programme than the one offered at Chancellor College. It appears your emphasis is on BIU and Share World University.

Panganani Killowe
Panganani Killowe
5 years ago
Reply to  Nancy Pelosi

Nancy anenatu kuti ena onsenso omwe ali mu situation ngat imeneyi alekeretu kupanga law ya mma trade fair yi. Zikomo.

Hlabezulu Ngonoonda
Hlabezulu Ngonoonda
5 years ago
Reply to  Nancy Pelosi

Catholic University of Malawi is in a class of its own. It accepted all recommendations that people well versed in offering law programs had advised them to do, and worked very hard on the shortfalls. It will not be something of a surprise if it finds itself in the top 100 universities in Africa as it makes strides to be an institution of higher learning.

manyozo
manyozo
5 years ago

Why we always want to make the law degree as a sacred? this is a useless degree in countries like india where the lawyers are treated as not intelligent since they never took science programs but rather memorizing books. allow private sector to do its part in producing lawyers in this country not that bullshit of restricting to chanco only. The most sensitive faculty is that of health, however there are private institutions that provide health education, so whats so special with memorizing laws?

Edwin
Edwin
5 years ago
Reply to  manyozo

By streamlining education, we want the products to be credible and provide best results. Even for Health I can say there should be specific health related colleges to offer not only any other like Skyways and those others mensioned above. These colleges are coming up with products that cannot find any employment in the health sector. Please Ministry of Health and the Medical Council of Malawi wake up with this information from the Law sector. Many parents are being robed of their money with the aim of educating their children but what these “students” get is sub-standards.

SCARIOT-MAN
SCARIOT-MAN
5 years ago
Reply to  Edwin

Most lawyers are thieves, in India Lawyers ask customers at high court to represent them just as bus touts do at LIMBE Depot, it is one of the most useless profession in the world, i agree @ Manyozo, nothing special here, just glorifying medocrity

MASO ENA
MASO ENA
5 years ago
Reply to  SCARIOT-MAN

Zitsanzo zina ndizopusa, basi kugomera mmwenye padziko lapansi lonseri- Fact is, ndi Umbuli kukhala ndi 1000 laywers with only 430 of them practicing. Nkumavala velo yoyesela kuoneka ngati nzungu wokalamba (then you call yourselves learned people, my foot!)

JOB
JOB
5 years ago

koma kumeneko.. and so called graduates will from now onwards be called afiti a law.. mumaona ngati ndalama ingagule law degree… kapangeni accounting basi imaloledwa paliponse.

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