Tag Archives: Kamuzu College of Nursing

The story of Nursing Graduate Isabel Tekwatekwa as narrated by Onjezani Kenani says a lot about Malawi’s lack of progress

2021-06-12 Ufulu

Isabel Tekwatekwa graduated from the Kamuzu College of Nursing in September 2018 and collected her degree of Bachelor of Nursing and Midwifery at a colorful ceremony in February 2019. In July 2020, she participated in a written interview – the government of Malawi, the Ministry of Health to be specific – wanted to hire nurses.

In March this year, it turned out she was one of the successful candidates – but nobody informed her. On the application letter and also on her CV, she had left all the details: her email address, the postal address care of her husband at the Dwangwa Sugar Corporation, two phone numbers of her own and one phone number of the next of kin. The hiring office at the Ministry of Health called everyone else except her and another nurse, who is no longer pursuing the matter as she is already employed elsewhere.

How, then, did she know she had been successful? A friend of hers – at the Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH), to which she had been posted, on paper – saw her name. Among the headcount of nurses working for the hospital her name was there, although she never, at any point, signed the GP1 form, which civil servants sign at the time they are hired.

Alarmed, she travelled all the way from Dwangwa to Lilongwe to follow up the matter. She tells me she had even checked the spam box of her email, to see whether any email may have strayed there, but there was none. In addition, the ministry did not publish the names of successful candidates in the newspapers, or even have them announced on the radio – they simply decided to call the successful candidates one by one and decided to omit Isabel and another.

At KCH she went straight to the Human Resource Office. The office explained to her that it was not the one that had been responsible for distributing offer letters to successful candidates. Coincidentally, some HR officials from the ministry were at KCH at the time, and Isabel brought the matter to their attention. They told her, “Sorry, your offer was valid for 14 days. Your colleagues reported for duty in March. Your offer has expired. Even if we were to stretch it to the 90 days (usual grace period for accepting a government employment offer), those 90 days have also expired. Sorry, there is nothing we can do. Give us your name and number, so we can invite you to another interview in July.”

“But why did you not exhaust all means to reach out to me?” asked Isabel.

“Sorry, there is nothing we can do. Just accept our advice that you should attend interviews in July.”

In the afternoon of that same day, Isabel went to the Ministry of Health. Someone there gave her the number of the official responsible for the headcount. After explaining the matter to him, he also said there was nothing that could be done as the offer expired.

Isabel did not stop there. She went to the Chief Human Resource Officer of the ministry. The Chief said that the only thing that could come out of her complaint is a lesson learnt that in future they should exhaust all means of reaching out to successful candidates. As for her specific situation, nothing could be done. “On our part, once the 14 days have passed,” said the Chief, “we assume that every candidate has been informed, and has made a choice either to take up the offer or not.”

“Assume?” asked Isabel. “Even when you know very well that you haven’t reached out to all of them?”

“Sorry,” said the Chief. “There is nothing we can do about your situation. The offer period has expired.”

The following day Isabel went to the Health Service Commission. The commissioners were not there, but she met some ladies who work there. The ladies explained to her that the Commission’s role stops at conducting the interviews. It is not involved in the recruitment process. “There is nothing we can do,” they said.

That, friends, is the injustice Ms Isabel Tekwatekwa has suffered. She passed the interviews, but the hiring office at the Ministry of Health decided not to reach out to her to inform her she had passed. Now they are saying they cannot recruit her because the period for recruiting her has expired. Just like that.

Just like that.

Education, Malawi

University of Malawi Council under fire for stopping delinking: ‘Wirima has self interest’

2021-01-22 Maneno Chimulala

College of Medicine: One of the constituent colleges of University of Malawi which stands to benefit from delinking

BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)—University of Malawi Council has come under fire for stopping unbundling of the constituent colleges, with South Afraica based legal scholar, Danwood Chirwa, describing the move as unlawful worth calling for resignation of Council Chair Professor Jack Wirrima.

During its extraordinary 102^nd meeting in 2017, the council and the senate agreed to delink the constituent colleges of the university of Malawi. The move was later endorsed by Malawi Parliament.

But according to a statement signed by Deputy University Registrar of UNIMA Ashanie Gawa, the council held its 117th extraordinary meeting on Wednesday, January 20, 2021 where the decision to set aside the delinking was made.

The council realized the decision was ultra vires and not in line with the powers and functions of the Senate and the Council.

Reacting, Professor Chirwa says the Council has ignored the law to fulfill self interest as the delinking, in its very nature, will render some officials at the Central Office useless.

Chirwa argues that there some few officials including Professor Wirrima who are the beneficiary of the status quo, hence the resistance.

“Wirrima seems to have managed to mislead other members of UNIMA council to ignore the law and delay the delinking of UNIMA colleges. He’s acting out of an apparent self interest. As a proprietor of one of the private clinics, his actions and those of his conspirators have an adverse impact on the College of Medicine which has in recent years established a bourgeoning college clinic and stands to benefit the most, along with Chancellor College, from the delinking.

“Wirima and some in council also have misplaced loyalty to Kamuzu Banda, who in truth could not have intended that UNIMA remains stultified under the weight of the current structure. There can be no doubt that the delinking will improve and strengthen all the affected colleges and create opportunities for the expansion of higher education in the country,” said Chirwa in a facebook post on Friday.

Chirwa has also insinuated that Wirrima is one of the untouchables of the current government such that his stand might have a blessing from the Tonse Alliance administration led by President Lazarus Chakwera.

“Unfortunately, Wirima is one of the untouchables of the current government. His unlawful acts might thus be condoned, if the government has not already aided him in the commission of this serious unlawful act.

“The man seems to be above the Minister of Education. She must put him in his place. He’s retrogressive and must be removed if he doesn’t resign. If Malawi was a country that adhered to the rule of law, Wirima would have been dismissed as chair of council with immediate effect,” he said.

On allegations that the previous council members acted unlawfully, Chirwa says it is the current council that has acted unlawfully.

“His [Wirrima] council has no power to derail the delinking. The Act he is purporting to rely on was superseded by later Acts.

“UNIMA council is not above Parliament. In any case, his council cannot rescind a previous decision of council without a court order. The technical jargon he must look up is ‘functus officio’. In short, Wirima’s council has made a decision that is without any legal effect,” he argued.

Chirwa has, therefore, asked all members of UNIMA to reject the decision of the council and insist that the law is implemented and the delinking is done.

KCN students holds vigils over school fees balance

2018-08-15 Patience Mandowa 1 Comment

By Alick Junior Sichali

Angry students at the University of Malawi’s Kamuzu College of Nursing {KCN} in Blantyre have today started holding vigils at their campus over school fees.

This follows reports that authorities have denied twenty students from writing examinations due to unfinished payment of schools fees.

Maravi Post understands that 20 students failed to write their exams on Monday because they did not finish paying their school fees.

In random interviews, the angry students said some of the students failed to write the exams because of having a balance of 2,000 Kwacha.

They claimed that the administrators at the school have given a blind eye to their concerns despite pledging to pay their balances in future after writing the exams.

The development angered the students who have since all agreed to boycott the examinations in a bid to force the management to allow their friends write the exams.

One of the students at the school said this is contrary to what has been happening in the past as students have been allowed to write their exams despite having fees balance.

He said students are forced to pay their fees balance when they want to see their examinations results.

“What the management is doing its different from what has been happening here (Kamuzu College Nursing), we always write exams even if we have school balance they only hold the results for the people who have not finished school fees not stopping them from writing exams,” Said one of the students.

Top officials at the College refused to comment on the matter when tried to get their reactions.

One of the administrators, Mrs Mbale even chased journalists from the campus saying they did not have the authority to ask her.

Meanwhile, the students have vowed not to support doctors in public hospitals until the management addresses their concerns.

Education

KCN students start sit in attempt to force adminstration to allow students with balances to write examinations

2018-08-14 Patience Mandowa

KCN students are currently under a sit in an attempt to force the management of the school to allow students who have balance to write examinations.

According to some of the students our reporter talked with, yesterday 20 students failed to write exams because of having fees balance a development which did not please other students saying in the past they have been writing exams despite having fees balance. Most pay within the holiday after sourcing funds so that they can be able to access their results.

According to the information our reporter has sourced from the students, some were chased yesterday in the examination room because of having a balance of 2,000 Kwacha.

” This is very inhumane. How can one be barred from writing end of semester examinations just because of a mare 2000 kwacha. After all it’s the norm that we write examinations regardless of fees balance.”

Malawi

Unima academic staff threaten to protest against salary disparities: CoM lecturers getting 40 percent higher

2016-09-08 Maravi Post correspondent

BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)—Employees of the University of Malawi (Unima) have threatened to take to the streets if their employer does not consider equality in remuneration of employees on the same grade.

Lecturers at Chancelor College, the Malawi Polytechnic and Kamuzu College of Nursing are questioning the idea of giving a different salary scale for staff on the same grade at the College of Medicine (CoM) for working in another establishment outside Unima’s jurisdiction. Continue reading Unima academic staff threaten to protest against salary disparities: CoM lecturers getting 40 percent higher →

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