MZUZU--Academic business at Bunda College of agriculture has, with immediate effect, been suspended following the decision by college authorities to send packing home students after continued protests on Wednesday.

The disgruntled students are pressing for the removal of their Principal, Professor Moses Kwapata, whom they accuse of maladministration particularly in the manner in which he has handled the transition process for the college from University of Malawi (UNIMA) to Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR). The students are demanding that their diplomas and degrees bear the UNIMA logo and not that of LUANAR as per the bill passed by the National Assembly which saw Bunda College of Agriculture being delinked from University of Malawi and merged with the Natural Resources College (NRC) to form LUANAR.

Although they'd already petitioned Pres Joyce Banda in her capacity as Chancellor, on Wednesday the students, armed with stones and tree branches, threatened to damage school property if their principal remained in office. It was at this point that the LUANAR officials ordered for the indefinite closure of the college.

The students were given only one hour to clear the campus but they remained defiant after learning that student union leaders had gone to court to secure an injunction to restrain the college from implementing its decision. The resistance compelled the police to fire teargas at the students to disperse them.

At the time this report was filed, there was heavy police presence on campus.

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©2012 The Maravi Post. Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgment.

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