University of Zambia (UNZA) Vice Chancellor Professor Luke Mumba has insisted that the institution will not rescind its decision to bar owing from writing examinations.

Prof Mumba told journalists in Lusaka yesterday that the university needed a lot of resources in order to run it according to expected standards.

“We have over 27 thousand students in the University [so] we have to buy thousands of reams of paper, that’s number one. Number two; when we give exams, there are also practicals for those practicals we have to buy the materials that are required like chemicals and so forth to give those exams. Thirdly, as a University we want to ensure that we adhere to quality. What does that involve? It involves examinations papers being purely viewed by external examiners even after the marking, we take those scripts randomly to external examiners to ensure that what we are doing conforms with the standards of the University,” Prof Mumba said.

He said it was illogical for people to ask the institution to allow owing students to write exams.

“Those costs are what will make us conform with the standard of the University, those costs are what will make us administer the exams. So if you say give them an exam before fees are paid, who is going to pay for that cost? Which exam are we talking about? So people need to understand that there is a cost to giving examinations, so it is either we reverse or we have no exam,” said Prof Mumba.

UNZA recently revealed that it is owed K58 million by over 8,000 students and asked them to pay up to avoid being barred from writing exams this month.

Various stakeholders, including Minister of National Planning and Development Lucky Mulusa, have condemned this move.