UNZA

PROF MUMBA THREATENED SCHOOL OF LAW LEADERSHIP – UNZALARU

By Oliver Chisenga

WE stepped down because we were threatened and not because of anyone’s failure to comply with senate resolutions or regulations, says the University of Zambia School of Law leadership.

In a statement signed by the University of Zambia Lecturers and Researchers’ Union (UNZALARU) president Andrew Phiri and general secretary Kelvin Mambwe, the union said they were disheartened that the UNZA management led by the vice-chancellor Professor Luke Mumba had chosen to take an internal matter bordering on academic excellence at UNZA to the press without providing all the necessary background in a truthful manner.

“As we understand it, the genesis of the present stand-off between the School of Law and the vice -chancellor emanates from the meeting between the school and the executive management, which was held on 28th February 2022.

In that meeting, the acting assistant dean undergraduate and the acting dean were duly guided that the School’s newly amended progression rules were at variance with those of Senate, only with regard to first year students,” the union stated.

“The Senate regulations of 2019 stipulate that all first year students who have passed 75 per cent of their course load should ‘proceed and repeat’; while the School regulations do not. The School quickly noted and accepted this discrepancy.”

The UNZALARU recalled that executive management went on to state that the School should apply the “proceed and repeat” rule to all students in light of the hardships faced by students in the past academic year.

The duo recollected that the School declined to do so as neither the senate regulations nor the School regulations provide for extension of the “proceed and repeat” rule to post first year law students.

“At this point, the acting assistant dean undergraduate went to great lengths explaining how doing so would amount to an amendment of the regulations and retrospective application of the amended regulations, which is not permissible at law.

At this juncture, the vice-chancellor indicated that management would simply ‘make a proposal to Senate’ and leave it to Senate to make the final decision on the matter,” the union stated.

“On 1st March 2022, during the 72nd session, the UNZA Senate resolved inter alia that the School of Law should: 1. Apply the proceed and repeat rule to first year students because that is what is provided for in the senate regulations; and 2. moderate the results for all returning students in light of the high number of students sent to part time, and as a means to mitigate the effects of the challenges faced in the last academic year.”

The duo stated that the School of Law immediately implemented the two senate resolutions to the letter.

It stated that during the continued senate deliberations, it was further resolved that a senate committee would be established to look into the varying progression rules across schools and that based on the recommendations of that committee, some amendment could be effected.

“Until then, the current regulations which did not allow the School of Law to apply the ‘proceed and repeat’ rule to post first year students would apply. I short, the UNZA Senate emphatically declined to amend and apply any regulation retrospectively,” the duo explained.

The union leaders said contrary to the UNZA senate resolution, the registrar issued a press statement on March 8 alleging that senate had resolved that “all post first year students, not in their first year of study, who have passed 75 per cent of course load in two consecutive years, should proceed to the next year but to repeat the failed course(s)”.

They said for all such students, the appropriate comment shall be “proceed and repeat” as opposed to sending them on part time.

The duo stated that UNZALARU was aware that the then acting dean engaged senators via their official WhatsApp group, requesting confirmation on whether the press statement truly embodied the UNZA senate resolution.

It stated that not a single senator responded, instead, Prof Mumba responded privately, urging the acting dean to “seek clarification from the Registrar directly and not on the Senate platform”.

The union leaders further said in the ensuing discussion between Prof Mumba and the acting dean, it was eventually agreed that the

issue be resolved in a meeting the following day, March 9.

“The Acting Dean and Acting Assistant Dean Undergraduate subsequently met the Vice Chancellor in his office together with the Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor, Registrar, Deputy Registrar Academic Affairs and a Secretary.

During that meeting:

  1. The Deputy Registrar Academic Affairs confirmed that the Acting Dean was on firm ground regarding Senate’s resolution on the results for the School of Law were concerned;
  2. The Registrar noted that when the ‘proceed and repeat’ rule was discussed during consideration of the results for the School of Natural Sciences, Senate resolved that students who passed 75 per cent of their course load in two consecutive years should ‘proceed and repeat’; but thought that that the resolution applied to all schools;
  3. The Vice Chancellor acknowledged that the resolution did not apply to all schools but said that as chairperson of senate, it was his view that it was in the best interest of students that it did, hence he would subsequently submit the press statement to Senate for ratification,” the union narrated.

“The Acting Dean then opposed the Vice Chancellor’s understanding of the issues, arguing that it was irregular at law because the UNZA Senate had already pronounced itself differently on the matter.

The School of Law has since processed results as guided in the 72nd session of the UNZA Senate, moderating the results of law students, and this had ameliorated the number of students that had initially been sent to part time.”

The two union leaders added that UNZALARU was aware that in a turn of events, Prof Mumba in a meeting with the two School of Law officers on March, 9, proclaimed among other things, that he had the power to change the leadership of the School of Law because he needed people who could carry out his instructions, “yet the School of Law had implemented the UNZA Senate regulations”.

“Immediately after the meeting, the Acting Dean and Acting Assistant Dean submitted their resignation letters to the effect that both officers had opted to stand by the inapplicability of decisions made outside Senate.

In other words, the two officers resigned because the Vice Chancellor threatened to disappoint them for insisting that the Vice Chancellor was pushing an agenda that was outside the UNZA Senate resolutions.

UNZALARU and the university community are therefore surprised that the Vice Chancellor through the Office of the Registrar has since issued a misleading statement dated 10th March, 2022 in which it is ironically alleged that the School of Law leadership has resigned on account of ‘failure to comply with the Senate resolutions and regulations’,” UNZALARU stated.

“The position of UNZALARU is that these are very serious accusations which must be substantiated especially that UNZA is a public institution of higher learning.”

The duo stated that UNZALARU was of the firm conviction that the higher education Act No. 4 of 2013 read together with its amendments enshrined the superiority of the UNZA Senate as an academic organ.

They guided that the higher education Act did not provide that the Prof Mumba as chairperson of the UNZA Senate can arbitrarily vary any senate approved regulations or resolutions and then proceed to “give direction to any school” on that erroneous and illegal basis.

The union leaders stated that the UNZA Senate cannot accordingly ratify any decision by Prof Mumba that is not in the spirit of the resolutions and regulations passed by a full sitting of the academic organ.

“On this basis, we challenge the Vice Chancellor to produce minutes of the Senate meeting that approved the regulation or end comment of ‘proceed and repeat’ being applicable to returning students in the School of Law,” the union demanded.

UNZALARU urged UNZA management to have open and truthful dialogue with the School of Law.

“For instance, UNZALARU is aware that there is a scheduled meeting on Monday 14th March, 2022 between the parties. We are therefore at pains to understand the Vice Chancellor’s need to rush to the media with half-truths before this issue is addressed and concluded internally,” said the two union leaders.

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