THE confusion that has continued to unfold at the Copperbelt University (CBU) in Kitwe where the academic calendar is crippled with untimely disruptions by unruly behaviour pioneered by some students is disappointing, to many.
Higher Education Minister Michael Kaingu visited the Jumbo Drive Campus to address students on issues affecting them such as the release of meal allowances, but in their own wisdom, they decided to snub the meeting, which was also attended by Higher Education Permanent Secretary Owen Mugumezulu.
We see the action taken by the students as unfortunate because the move by Dr Kaingu and his permanent secretary was aimed at convincing the students that the Government was willing to address their plight.
Dr Kaingu was merely there to get first-hand information on the problems affecting the students, with full conviction that dialogue was the best option out of any problem.
It is further disheartening to note that CBU students have opted to be at loggerheads with the Government even after President Edgar Lungu called on them to maintain discipline while their concerns were being addressed.
The Head of State advised the students against falling prey to politicians who had infiltrated colleges and universities to incite youths to resort to unruly behaviour over trivial matters.
This was after a series of misconduct by the students last month, whose motive did not solve anything except inconveniencing innocent citizens by damaging personal and public property.
The challenges affecting the country’s higher institutions of learning cannot be resolved overnight and this is why it is time for the Government to moot a sustainable survival plan for the institution.
Students at the country’s second highest institution of learning should be aware that their compatriots at the University of Zambia (UNZA) and Mulungushi University are competing for the same resources from the Government.
Dr Kaingu has since threatened to close CBU if the unrest at the institution, which does not provide for academic life, continues.
He has, however, pledged to table the issue before President Lungu before any further action can be taken.
We agree with the firm stance taken by the Education Minister, because what is happening at CBU cannot be allowed to continue in that fashion.
It has become a circus and a mockery, to say the least, that students, who we hope will one day have the responsibility to run national affairs, should continue to conduct themselves in such an unbecoming manner.
It is simply unfair to take the Government for a ride, when it is a well-known fact that the end beneficiaries are the students themselves.
At this stage, the students have derailed their own progress as dialogue with the Government through Dr Kaingu was a major lifeline which was simply ignored.
We also concur with Dr Kaingu when he says it is time for the Government to bring to a stop the entitlement-syndrome, where students feel that they have to automatically receive bursaries without delay.
This is because the sponsored students do not want to appreciate their privileges, but want to abuse the educational liberties availed to them by the Government, which has many competing needs of its budget.
A bursary is a privilege accorded to only a few applicants who are selected out of many others and it is time that the fortunate students lived up to the main reason they earned those bursaries.
It is very unfortunate, if, as Dr Kaingu said, that the Government was convinced that CBU students were not being influenced by the delayed meal allowances, but by outside elements bent on fighting and discrediting the Government, using any means, including students themselves.
Institutions of learning should not become havens of confusion. There are innocent students who want to ensure they learn and complete, as scheduled, thus it is unfair that those deeming themselves as above-the-law should take others for granted.
At the rate things are going at the institution, Dr Kaingu’s warning of closing the institution should not be taken lightly.