PAY OR YOU ARE OUT, 8,000 UNZA STUDENTS TOLD

Thu, 03 Aug 2017 12:43:42 +0000

By Aaron Chiyanzo

UNIVERSITY of Zambia (UNZA) management has insisted that students who fail to pay their tuitions will not write their examinations and the decision is final and not negotiable.

The decision that UNZA students who will not clear their tuition fees will not write their examinations is not negotiable as the same money is needed to buy stationery and pay external invigilators, vice chancellor Luke Mumba has said.

And Zambia National Students Union (ZANASU) president Joseph Busenga has warned that the union would put UNZA to task if it continued with the plan to bar students from writing examinations.

Prof. Mumba said that the decision that students were only going to be allowed to write examinations upon payment of their full tuition fees was not negotiable.

He explained that there was no way the university was going to facilitate for examinations without money, as there was need to buy stationery and pay allowances for external examination monitors and markers.

Prof Mumba said that the university currently had no money to accommodate students who were still owing the institution, in their planned examination.

He pointed out that the university still needed to maintain its standards of inviting external monitors, makers and other services as it had always been during examinations.

Prof Mumba however wondered how UNZA was going to afford all the expenses involved if students were allowed to sit for examinations without clearing their fees.

“As a university, we still have to maintain our standards when it comes to examinations. There is loads of stationery that has to be bought, hire external monitors and markers to make sure our exams are credible. But all these require money, now how are we going to make for a large number if they don’t pay,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Busenga suggested that UNZA should allow students who were still owing the university to write their examination and then withhold their results.

He said that it would be big draw back on their careers if students were to miss examinations and then find money afterwards.

Mr Busenga said that the students obviously were not deliberately failing to clear their dues, but that probably circumstances beyond their control.

And ZANASU academic secretary Dismas Chanda said that it was unfortunate that the student union at UNZA was dormant and not fighting for the plight of students.

“UNZASU should realise that if over 850 students do not write their exams then the future poverty that may be caused on these people and their families will be on their hands,” said Mr Chanda.