Chanco rebuffs students on exam results over delayed fees payment

…bars them from accessing results despite settling outstanding balances

…verbally withdraws them to repeat next year

…stakeholders condemn the college

A number of mature entry students from Chancellor College, in Malawi’s old capital have woken up to a shock after the college claims to have automatically withdrawn them on financial grounds for failure to settle fees balances on time.

This has come as a surprise to most students who despite settling fees balances have been denied access to their end of year results and have been told to return to the college and repeat the semester next year.

The development has irked a large number of mature entry students who wonder why the college has adopted this new stance whilst the norm has been to withhold results until one pays for the outstanding balance.

The students feel Chanco has grossly abused Section 27.2 of the University of Malawi Students’ Rules and Regulations which says “every student shall settle in full his or her debts with the college and the students union at the end of each academic year and each student with outstanding college debt shall not be informed of his or her examinations results and may be liable to such other penalties as the Principal may, at his or her discretion, impose in order to ensure repayment of the debt by the student”.

The students further question the availability of a clause which empowers the college to withdraw students on financial grounds and further empowers the college to bar students’ access to results despite settling debt with the institution.

“We appeal to your office to consider us on the following critical aspects: allow us to settle our fees balance, allow us to see our end of year results, those who have passed be allowed to proceed to the next academic year, those who will be on supplementary exams should be considered to seat for the same,” reads part of a letter authored by concerned students and addressed to the principal of the college.

The letter further says: “We are also against repeating because this decision is against the college rules of exams. The college is allowed by rules to administer three exams namely; original exams, deferred exams and supplementary exams. We therefore question the rule which the college is using to make us repeat without differed or supplementary exams”

“We asked the assistant registrar (academics) to produce a rule that shows that the college withdraws us on financial grounds but he could not produce it. We therefore feel that this decision lacks legal backing.”

“Lastly, as human beings, we have a right to be heard. However the college has just rushed into condemning us without hearing our story as if this is a case of strict liability.”

Assistant Registrar of Academics at the college is reported to have been verbally issuing instructions on the students’ fate when the students queried him to access their results upon clearing their debt with the college.

The office of the registrar claims that students with outstanding balances were not recognized by the college and as such their participation in academic activities at the college were declared null and void despite their sitting for examinations adding that senate did not waste time on such students’ papers.

Meanwhile, the students union of the college has expressed surprise at the development saying it is unjust, unfair and discriminatory in nature.

The leadership says it is working on issuing a statement to petition the college to reverse its retrogressive decision on the matter.

Experts at law have also condemned the college for its stance and have since urged the victimized students to seek legal redress and fight for justice to prevail so that upon settlement of debt, they access their results and proceed with their education without necessarily being forced to repeat on financial grounds. Lawyers have since described the stance by Chanco as very strange.

Assistant registrar of academics at the college was coy to talk to the media on this issue saying the rules are very clear.

Efforts to talk to the principal of the college proved futile as his secretary said he was in South Africa.