National News

Poly lecturers resume work

University of Malawi’s Polytechnic lecturers have called off a strike which saw them boycotting classes for at least six weeks, demanding a 113 percent salary increase.

The decision to resume work follows a meeting the Polytechnic Academic Staff Committee on Welfare (Pascow) had with the University of Malawi Council on Thursday.

Chancellor College Academic Staff Union (Ccasu) was the first to accept the 25 percent increase from government last week. But the lecturers at Polytechnic rejected the offer and continued with their strike as negotiations were underway.

Pascow secretary general Gift Khangamwa said on Sunday students were to resume classes this Monday.

“Lecturers have decided to resume their duties tomorrow [September 17]. This decision has been reached after considering the amount of time students have stayed idle. The University Council appreciates the problems we outlined and the reasons we were proposing a 113 percent pay hike.

“It is unfortunate that this issue has taken long to resolve. We could have resumed teaching, but we wanted long-lasting solutions to our challenges. There have been times in the past where we were told to resume work without proper solutions and we did not want to do the same thing this time,” said Khangamwa.

Following the lecturers’ strike, Polytechnic students on September 3 also blocked the Masauko-Chipembere Highway, demanding resumption of learning and a revision of their allowances.

 

FEEDBACK

On Unima woes

Malawi Government stopped investing in free university education a long time back—even before the late Dr Hasting Kamuzu Banda left the political scene—but is still ‘offering’ free university education on the backs of university lecturers by paying them peanuts.  

Not only are Unima lecturers the lowest paid in the region, their salaries are also a misery one-eleventh (9 percent) of the regional average.  It is not surprising Unima has a huge challenge attracting new lecturers and retaining the lecturers it has.  

Students, too, are suffering silently under the present circumstances—poor accommodation, inadequate learning and teaching materials, learning in crowded conditions and inadequate stipends.   

Government would rather invest in ‘vote spinners’—social cash transfer programmes such as the Farm Input Subsidy Programme, Food-for-Work, Youth Loans, Chiefs’ Personal Houses et cetera—than long-term infrastructure programmes with documented social-economic spin-offs like tertiary education. Taxpayers are equally to blame for not making it clear to the political leadership that they want value for their money. 

Those of us that benefited from government investing in free university education know the difference: happy students, contented lecturers and a meaningful learning environment.

CML

 

Well done on drug story

Well done The Nation for the story on the K25 billion drug deal (Friday September 14) and Majid Panjwani for exposing the matter. I would appreciate if you find out and inform the public the Crown sister companies.

SB/via e-mail

Congratulations to Panjwani, we need people like him.

What is the Pharmacy Medicine and Poisons Board doing about the pharmacist and the company involved?

GN/via e-mail

 

No honest politicians

Since the fall of the government of the first president Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda, most people refuse to believe there are honest and unselfish politicians in Malawi.

ND

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