We’ll not be cowed over meal allowances - Luo
WE will not succumb to pressure over the scrapped meal allowances, Minister of Higher Education Proffessor Nkandu Lou has restated.
Prof. Luo said she had come under heavy criticism over student meal allowances adding that it was a passing phase because all students in other universities were equally special.
"Institutions such as Mulungushi, Kwame Nkrumah and others, equal-ly have vulnerable students who should be treated equally," Prof. Luo said
But Southern Africa Student and Youth Development Association (SAYSDA) Zambia national president Ibrahim Mwamba has appealed to President Lungu to reconsider the government’s position over the matter
“We welcome the move to extend scholarships to other uni-versities but again and looking at it at a different angle, scrapping off the meal allowance caught the students unaware because major stake-holders such as the student unions were not consulted,” Mr Mwamba said.
Mr Mwamba said the Copperbelt University and UNZA were institu-tions that had produced presidents including President Lungu who was also a beneficiary of the meal allowance.
“Our position is also to tell the students that this is not something politi-cal. We have seen how other politicians are trying to incite students to riot and involve into violent behaviour over the issue and my appeal is to the students not to entertain such people,” he said.
Mr Mwamba said riots and any forms of violent behaviour was not the best way of handling the issue especially by students from the two insti-tutions of higher learning.
Mr Mwamba further appealed to the student populace to exercise max- imum patience as relevant stakeholders find a better solution to the is-sue.