Lecturers from the University of Malawi, The Polytechnic on Tuesday snapped their fingers in the face of their employers, listing down resolutions which ‘have to be honoured’ before the dons can return to pushing chalk.
In a meeting that went well into Tuesday evening, the lecturers formulated their resolutions which they have since forwarded to the University of Malawi Council.
“We have asked Council to put their words in writing on the issue of the closure of the college, on the issue of the freezing of salaries and on the issues of the signing of the forms. The fourth resolution is for council to go by the chancellor’s speech that there should be no casualties in the quest for academic freedom,” said Griffin Salima, Chairman of the Pascow, the college’s academic staff association.
Council printed out forms for the academic staff to fill if they wanted to keep their jobs, very few filled them and Salima said the issue should be clarified by the council. Salima also said that the council should clearly state that it has withdrawn the cases in court against lecturers before classes can resume.
“We also took time to analyse the presidents’ speech on academic freedom and we are in total agreement with what he said that there should be a win win situation at the end of this, it’s why we have asked council to withdraw the cases it is pursuing against us.
“imagine Council sued government for paying us salaries, it’s why we joined the case to defend ourselves, unless such cases are withdrawn and council clearly puts it in writing to us, it’s hopeless,” said Salima.
Asked what the lecturers would do if council doesn’t honour the resolutions, Salima said it would then be hopeless and that only force would see them back in class.
This comes at a time when students soared their hopes of returning to school this July; the ball now remains in the court of the University Council.
Meanwhile MBC TV has been parading Chancellor College lecturers who have been condemning the CCASU and Jessie Kabwila-Kapasula’s leadership with one Philosophy Lecturer, Pascal Mwale, calling the union combative and disrespectful.
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Mwale took time to condemn Blessings Chinsinga saying that what he underwent under Mukitho was a personal thing and that his statement that he underwent trauma are contradictory because he [Chinsinga] also told the nation that he was never intimidated by his being summoned by the police inspectors.
However, one lecturer from Chanco wondered why MBC is using people who have admitted not being part of CCASU.
“I don’t know if that is even journalism, why would they parade Pascal Mwale when we all know that he has been to a mental hospital?” wondered the source
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