228 Nalikule college students stranded
About 228 students at Nalikule College of Education in Lilongwe are stranded after the college ordered them to go home following the completion of their supplementary examinations, a departure from previous arrangements.
In an interview at the college campus yesterday, Students Representative Council spokesperson Powell Ndovie said normally, supplementary examinations at the college are held a few days before the new term opens so that affected students do not have to return home afterwards.
He said this time, the college management told the students that the new academic year will only start on October 3, as such, they should leave the college campus.
Said Ndovie: “The students came early to sit for supplementary examinations on Thursday and, knowing that classes were supposed to resume on Monday this week, most came prepared for the new term.
“However, we were surprised to hear the college management telling us that the date for opening has been shifted to October 3, which meant all the students were supposed to return home.”
He lamented that some of the students come from as far as Chitipa and Zomba.
Ndovie claimed that some students were forced to spend Sunday night in a bush close to the campus entrance while others slept in nearby houses that are under construction after the college kicked them out of campus.
“The college involved the police in chasing the students out of school campus because the students insisted on staying, arguing they could not afford to pay for transport since they had come already prepared to start the new term,” he added.
Nalikule College of Education management declined to comment, saying the Ministry of Education was best placed to speak on the matter.
Ministry of Education spokesperson Mphatso Nkuonera justified the decision by the college, saying all students were informed timely and they were also informed on every step that management had taken in a transparent manner.
