Graduating students from the Malawi College of Accountancy (MCA) have obtained a court injunction restraining management from holding a graduation ceremony this month arguing that the college must first resolve the issue of accreditation, Malawi24 understands.
MCA’s degree programmes were not accredited by the National Council of Higher Education (NCHE) in November due to failure to meet minimum requirements.
But the college is still offering the programmes and recently said it will have a graduation ceremony at Bingu International Conference Centre (BICC) on April 21 to award its students who have completed various programs offered by the institution.
However, the students have stopped the management from holding the ceremony arguing that the college must seek accreditation before awarding the students with their papers.
The students argued that their degrees will be of no value if the college is to remain unaccredited by NCHE.
Zomba high court Judge Justice Zione Ntaba ruled that MCA must stop all preparations for the graduation as they wait to be accredited in Malawi.
MCA Principal Agrippa Phiri has however claimed that the college has made strides on the accreditation process and she urged the students not to panic due to the situation.
Phiri added that they are to hold the graduation in the meantime arguing that some students need their qualification papers.
MCA was among the institutions of higher learning that failed to meet the NCHE requirements for their degree programmes to get accredited.
When it released the list of accredited institutions and programs, NCHE advised employers to disregard qualification papers offered by those institutions that were not accredited in the country.
