Luo warns trouble makers
HIGHER Education Minister, Nkandu Luo has threatened stiff penalties for employees propagating indiscipline in institutions of higher learning.
The caution comes barely a few days after 44 Copperbelt University-CBULecturers were interrogated in Kitwe for unlawful confinement of vice Chancellor Professor Naison Ngoma whom they accused of failing to manage the University.
Professor Luo sounded the warning in Lusaka on Saturday during a stakeholders’ consultative meeting to deliberate on corrective measures that would bring sanity to the two public Universities, University of Zambia (UNZA) and Copperbelt University (CBU).
She noted that the role of unions in public universities was increasingly becoming questionable.
With an apparent reference to CBU, Prof Luo disclosed that the unions wrote to her office to explain why they wanted Prof Ngoma out of office which the Higher Education Minister argues, the allegations were unfounded and unreasonable.
“In their letter they complained that students trips to Israel should stop, but these trips are paid for by the Israeli government to enable students to do practicals, but what is wrong with that? And they are further complaining that the school of graduate studies does not have enough students, but that is not the function of the Vice Chancellor or, lecturers themselves,” Prof Luo said.
She said it was wrong for lecturers to disrespect their vice chancellor as this behavior would trickle down to students and may result in riots.
Prof Luo said a nation that did not have a stable education sector was lost and therefore the happenings at the two institutions should be seriously evaluated.
She said government was on the verge of amending the Education Act and it was time to come up with workable solutions for the challenges the universities were facing.
“We have finally been given a go ahead to revise policies pertaining to how our public universities are run because they are major stakeholders in governance of the country. We believe people in Universities are advisors of government and as such we need to have order in these institutions,” Prof Luo noted.