Malawi University closed following week of chaos - The University Council, the regulatory authority of the University of Malawi, on Saturday announced the closure 'with immediate effect' of Chancellor College and the Polytechnic, two constituent colleges of the university, following a week of running battles between police and students. 'Council of the University of Malawi has closed Chancellor College and the Polytechnic indefinitely due to staff and student demonstrations,' the University Council said in a statement published in Zomba Saturday. 'This decision has been taken in order to protect lives and property from being lost. All students are therefore asked to leave their campuses immediately,' it said. Soon after the statement police invaded the two campuses to forcibly evict the students. Robert Mgala, Secretary General of the Polytechnic Students Union, told PANA there was no need for the authorities to use police to evict the students.
'Five of our colleagues were badly beaten up by police for delaying leaving the campus,' he said. 'This violence was unnecessary.'
Mgala said the student body would liaise with management to end the impasse with the police so that the academic calendar was not further delayed.
The University lecturers' stand-off emanated from an unprecedented meeting between Inspector General of Police Peter Mukhito and Associate Political Science Professor Blessings Chinsinga.
Mukhito reportedly summoned Dr. Chinsinga after he told a public policy class that crises like Malawi's persistent fuel shortages can lead to insurrections like those that have toppled the governments of President Ben Ali of Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt.
The lecturers downed their tools in protest against what they called interference of their academic freedom. They demanded an apology from the police chief and assurances of academic freedom.
But Mukhito has refused to apologise, insisting he was simply doing his job of ensuring national security.
He said academic freedom must be balanced with issues of security. President Bingu wa Mutharika, who is both Chancellor of the University of Malawi and Commander-in-Chief of the Malawi Police Service, has since thrown his weight behind the police chief, saying Mukhito should not apologise to 'teachers who are teaching revolution'.
Earlier in the week students at the Blantyre-based Polytechnic went on the rampage looting the Senior Common Room after their lecturers, who had joined the Chancellor College colleagues in solidarity, voted 34 to 29 in favour of returning to class 'under protest'.
The students accused the lecturers of betrayal by returning to class before being assured of academic freedom.
Police fired tear gas to break up the demonstrations after the students started damaging cars plying the nearby Masauko Chipembere Highway.
Police also invaded the Zomba-based Chancellor College after students blocked some roads in the city while chanting anti-government songs.
'Five of our colleagues were badly beaten up by police for delaying leaving the campus,' he said. 'This violence was unnecessary.'
Mgala said the student body would liaise with management to end the impasse with the police so that the academic calendar was not further delayed.
The University lecturers' stand-off emanated from an unprecedented meeting between Inspector General of Police Peter Mukhito and Associate Political Science Professor Blessings Chinsinga.
Mukhito reportedly summoned Dr. Chinsinga after he told a public policy class that crises like Malawi's persistent fuel shortages can lead to insurrections like those that have toppled the governments of President Ben Ali of Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt.
The lecturers downed their tools in protest against what they called interference of their academic freedom. They demanded an apology from the police chief and assurances of academic freedom.
But Mukhito has refused to apologise, insisting he was simply doing his job of ensuring national security.
He said academic freedom must be balanced with issues of security. President Bingu wa Mutharika, who is both Chancellor of the University of Malawi and Commander-in-Chief of the Malawi Police Service, has since thrown his weight behind the police chief, saying Mukhito should not apologise to 'teachers who are teaching revolution'.
Earlier in the week students at the Blantyre-based Polytechnic went on the rampage looting the Senior Common Room after their lecturers, who had joined the Chancellor College colleagues in solidarity, voted 34 to 29 in favour of returning to class 'under protest'.
The students accused the lecturers of betrayal by returning to class before being assured of academic freedom.
Police fired tear gas to break up the demonstrations after the students started damaging cars plying the nearby Masauko Chipembere Highway.
Police also invaded the Zomba-based Chancellor College after students blocked some roads in the city while chanting anti-government songs.
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