Former Zambia National Students Union (ZANASU) vice-president Prince Ndoyi has called on the general public not
to take Minister Of Higher Education Hon. Nkandu Luo's
proposal to abolish students unions from high learning
institutions in the country seriously as her idea is retrogressive.
Mr Ndoyi the former Mulungushi University Students Union
president who was featuring on "Talk at 6," a live radio
program on Millennium Radio which was discussing the
proposal by the Minister Of Higher Education Nkandu Luo
said it was wrong for the minister to propose the
abolishment of unions at high learning institutions as they
are a structured way of presenting and dealing with
challenges faced by students at respective institutions.
He wondered how the minister intends to deal with
challenges faced by students at respective institutions if
unions are abolished further describing the proposed
leadership by the minister as 'mediaeval type of leadership'
not fit for students.
"it is a wrong move and it must not be given undue attention
or audience as it is nothing but a retrogressive idea or
proposal from our mother. Our mother seems not to know
what she is proposing, is she telling the nation that she will
start directly talking to every student at all high learning
institution countrywide even in far flung places. Even so the
type of leadership she is proposing is nothing but a
medieval type of leadership which can not at any point
represent the students adequately. Students unions are a
form of democracy," he said.
He reminded the Minister that when President Lungu
appointed her as Minister he didn't exclude students unions
from her duties but he expected her to superintend over all
affairs to do with higher learning including students unions.
He noted that it was proposals like that one which is making
the President seem undemocratic when in fact the President
had nothing to do with such proposals.
"President Lungu didn't ask her to chose what to deal with or
what not to deal with, it is to manage high learning in its
entirety. The Minister perhaps is trying to tell us something,
because just a few weeks if not months she suspended
union activities at the University of Zambia and now she is
proposing another way of silencing students' voices.
"I want to appeal to the Minister to avoid making decisions
like this one without consultation, it's statements like this
one that begin to paint or portray our President as though
he is not a democratic leader, while President Lungu has
nothing totally to do with some of these proposals. Students
unions are the most manageable form of structure for which
students issues can be addressed, anything else is vague or
not practica," he said.
He further said the solution to student unrests was not to
gauge students but simply provide a platform for constant
dialogue at levels of decision making in respective
institutions.
"Let our mother use her board rooms not only for
management meetings but also for an active engagement of
student leaders. She mustn't insulate herself from students
leaders otherwise management's have a tendency to paint a
picture perfect situation so as to protect their jobs," he said.
He urged law makers not to entertain her proposal.
"Lastly I want to call upon parliamentarians not to even
think of enacting such a thing, let them use their limited time
in parliament to concentrate on enacting good laws unlike
backtracking the progress parliaments before them have
made in broadening the democratic space for students at
high learning institution," he said.
In the recent past there has been concerns from both the
church and civil society that Zambia is sliding into a
dictatorship.
Many have speculated that President Edgar
Lungu has been at the center of silencing dissenting voices.
This call by the Minister becomes the latest acts of
weakening a strong student activism, acts perceived by
many callers on the program as ways of silencing dissenting
voices of the students.
No comments:
Post a Comment