OVER 300 LAW STUDENTS SENT ON PART-TIME.
STUDENTS at the University of Zambia’s School of Law have complained of foul play by the school’s authorities after over 300 of them were sent on part time.
After seating the 2021 end of year examinations, the results are that 14% of the Second year law students made it to Third Year while about 25% of the Third Year Law students made it to Fourth year.
Failing one course or any number of courses puts a student on part time. This means students put on part time are to pay for each course in which they got a D. Those on student loans lose their loans in that year and are expected to pay the fees irregardless of their vulnerability and yet reactivation of the loan is not guaranteed while those who are on self sponsorship incur extra costs. However, both are delayed by a year in their studies. To the vulnerable this is a sentence out of school.
The students in the school of law appealed for supplementary exams as a second chance, citing the hardships they underwent in the previous academic year as the cause of failure, aome of which include;
- E learning. It is common knowledge at the University of Zambia that E learning equals No learning. Due to this, students only had two months of interaction with their lecturers.
- Absentism by lecturers. Even after the whole year was reduced to two months most lecturers did not attend to their students for physical classes . Further, the school did not provide tutorial sessions which are an Avenue for clarity for the students. Additionally, some lecturers were absent both physically and online. Notably one some students in an interview with UNZA Leaks said a certain acting high ranking lecturer only taught less than 10 times in total for both the Second Year and Third year class the entire academic year online and physically.
- Sadism, some lecturers vowed and promised to fail the students at the beginning of the academic year and they proceeded as such.
This raises a lot of concerns about what the motive is behind failing these numbers of students.
Others have observed that The school of law released their results weeks later after other schools as a protest to management’s over-enrollment of students.
“Could this failing of students be a form of protest?” an affected student asked.
Others think this may be one way the school wants to raise more money from school fees for part timers as they are required to pay around K6000 for one course.
“Was it a hit job on innocent students in order for the school to earn extra Cash? Or maybe it was just pure sadism and contempt against the students. We sympathise and stand with the students in the school of law. We hope that the School Management will come in and allow those that appealed for supplementary exams to sit for the exams,” a student said.