MINISTER TELLS OFF LECTURERS
WE will not bow down to pressure from Lecturers and put the lives of over 20,000 students at risk by reopening the University of Zambia(UNZA) before necessary measures are put in place, Minister of Higher Education Nkandu Luo has charged.
Speaking at the Launch of the University of Zambia strategic plan for the period 20182022 Prof Luo, said the University needed to get clearance from Ministry of Health before reopening the institution as she could not risk an outbreak of cholera at the highest learning institution.
She said Cholera was a dangerous disease which should be taken seriously and an outbreak of the disease at the institution would be a disaster.
“It is our duty to safeguard the lives of these students, and we cannot take risks just because some people want to make noise, if anything happens to any one of the students, we will be to blame and the burden will be on me. What will we tell their parents and guardians? So it is unfair for UNZALARU to make certain statements,” Prof Luo said.
Prof Luo further said lecturers should stop criticizing government and find solutions to the country’s challenges.
She said Universities were havens of knowledge and therefore it was unacceptable for lecturers not to play any role in tackling the country’s challenges.
“We have people here who are highly qualified, yet are failing to provide solutions. That is your role, we cannot even have someone to work on the army worms problem in the country, yet we claim to be intellectuals,” Prof Luo said.
She said Universities had qualified individuals in differ- ent fields and it was surprising that they concentrated on trivial issues which could not develop the nation.
She said the University of Zambia Lecturers and Researchers Union (UNZALARU) was making irresponsible statements over the reopening of the institution and that was regrettable.
She said more was expected from the Union especially that the members were part of the University community.
Prof Luo said it was not the role of University lecturers to criticize government unnecessarily and politicize everything.
Prof Luo said it was not her ministry that should give permission to the institution to reopen but the Ministry of Health.
She said she would no longer tolerate University unions and managements that were causing unnecessary confusion in institutions of higher learning.