Exploits University students in Lilongwe yesterday invaded the University chancellor Kingstone Ngwira’s house in protest of a sit-in by lecturers and support staff. University registrar Benjamin Sambiri confirmed in a telephone interview that students went on rampage to show anger that they have not been learning for some time.
He said the university has not been paying lecturers for over five months following the low turnover of students at both campuses because the college was not accredited by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) in 2016.
“We have not paid our staff as we have few students. This made lecturers to down their tools”, said Sambiri.
He said the college has a monthly wage bill of K28 million for 70 lecturers and over 30 support staff. This means the college is supposed to pay over K168 million in arrears to bounce back to its normal operations.
Police officers have since been guarding over the chancellor’s house in Area 43 while the university’s Lilongwe campus looked desolate as all offices were sealed.
Lilongwe Police spokesperson Kingsley Dandaula, while confirming the ransacking of the chancellor’s residence, said he needed more time to consult on the value of the property damaged.
