Students from polytechnic, a constituent college of the University of Malawi (UNIMA) have questioned the inactiveness of President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika over the closure of the institution, saying the silence is not helping matters at all.

In a statement released yesterday, the students say it is unfortunate that four months after the school was closed, Mutharika has not uttered a word on the matter.

The students said Mutharika’s silence on the matter has left them wondering as to whether the President is aware of the existence of a University called Polytechnic.

“Worse still, it is not only Polytechnic that is enduring closure pains. Mzuzu University (Mzuni), Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST), Natural Resources College (NRC), and Malawi College of Health Sciences are in the same predicament and we have all heard nothing from our honourable Chancellor.

“The PSU kindly requests that the Chancellor intervenes in this stalemate. He needs to realise that the scholars of these closed colleges are not just youngsters, but ambitious individuals who solely rely on education to break through the chains of poverty gripping Mother Malawi by her throat,” reads in part the statement.

Added the statement: “Since the responsible minister has noticed that university leaders are failing to run the public universities, we believe that the Chancellor is the only hope to save thousands of young Malawians who as we speak, are just wasting away at home, as if they have nothing to contribute to the development of this country. Mr Chancellor sire, we need your immediate intervention.”

Meanwhile PSU has hailed Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the country for coming in to speak for students whose colleges have been closed.