“My dreams were shattered when I learnt that the university’s communications department would not admit me because it had no special needs lecturers. I was forced to go for education and social studies, which didn’t interest me.”

These are the words of 26-year-old Wilton Nyirenda, a visually impaired student who was accepted by Chancellor College, Malawi, in 2014. Chancellor College was set up in the former capital of Zomba in 1965, just after independence. Since the 1970s the university has dedicated itself to admitting students with special needs – and particularly the visually impaired.

Equipped with a Special Needs Centre, Chancellor is supposedly the embodiment of the Malawi government’s commitment to “inclusive education”, in terms of which every student is entitled to quality education regardless of disability. Of the 55 special needs students at the university, 33 are visually impaired.

Chancellor College receives the lion’s share of government spending on tertiary education. While Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources received a total budget of seven billion kwacha (R127-million) in 2018/19, the Zomba institution received MK10-billion (R183-million).

However, in an interview on the campus, Nyirenda raised questions about how this money is spent. He highlighted the many failures of the university to meet the needs of visually impaired students.

A senior lecturer at the university, who asked not to be named, confirmed that there are no special needs lecturers in the language and communications department and many other faculties.  He said even though the government regards science education as critical to Malawi’s development, special needs students are not accepted by the science faculty for degree courses because it has no suitably qualified lecturers.

Another lecturer at the special needs centre, who also asked to remain anonymous, said that there are only three special needs lecturers at the centre to cater for 55 students with disabilities.

The lecturer also said 55 years after the establishment of the university, it still had no specific policies for special needs education and that it followed national education policy guidelines.

Nyirenda also criticised the infrastructure at Chancellor. He said:

“I don’t use the library because I can’t use the stairs and there are no braille books. Even though they set up a special needs centre where we can scan books, the process is time-consuming because there are only five working computers for special needs students. We are not on a par with sighted students.”

His complaints were echoed by other visually impaired students.

Blessings Mwalwanda, 26, also took aim at the facilities at Chancellor College, saying some visually impaired students are not provided with orientation on how to move around the campus:

“We weren’t given prior warning about where to walk. And they’ve built waterways and drainage channels everywhere on the paths between the hostels and the teaching area. I don’t know why they did this, maybe for decoration, but they are death traps for us. One of my fellow students fell into a ditch, and I had to shout for help from the security guards. He suffered head and arm injuries.”

Visually impaired students blame their generally poor performance on the shortage of special needs facilities at Chancellor. Mercy Phiri, 25, a BA student, attested to this. She said that there are too few lecturers who are able to transcribe printed exam papers into braille and exam papers are often not available during exams. The students’ answer papers also have to be transcribed back into print for marking purposes.

“We often have to come back during holidays to track down our answer papers from the lecturers. If we can’t find them, we get zero for the exam,” Phiri said.

Malawi’s 2013 National Education Policy calls for the creation of a conducive learning environment for all students with disabilities.

The policy acknowledges the need to address barriers to learning such as insufficient qualified staff, inadequate teaching and learning resources, and the irregular review of curricula. Richard Chimwendo Banda, the former chairperson of the parliamentary committee responsible for people with disabilities, faulted the college for failing to prioritise the needs of students with disabilities, especially the visually impaired.

“This is the most important university in the country. It’s pathetic that management is failing to plan and allocate enough resources for students like this, so that they have the same privileges as other students,” Banda said.

He believes the university and the government are to blame, as inadequate funding is compounded by the university’s failure to prioritise the needs of special needs students. In 2018, the Civil Society Education Coalition, which promotes quality education in Malawi, pleaded with parliament to push for increased allocations and the formulation of special needs policies.

Benedicto Kondowe, the coalition’s executive director, said there had been no response. Kondowe did not mince his words.

“The government has neglected visually impaired students,” he said.

“There are no braille books or computers at Chancellor.  The college has only three special needs lecturers and other departments have none. Why?”

The head of programmes of the Federation of Disability Organisations in Malawi, Simon Munde, added that the government left everything in the hands of its development partners.

“It’s unfortunate that the college relies on funders such as the Scottish government to provide learning equipment such as talking computers and braille papers,” said Munde.

He said he feared that visually impaired students were not fully equipped with the necessary skills, and struggled to find employment:

“We have a lot of visually impaired people begging on our streets because they did not go to school. So it is sad to deny those who have managed to gain access to tertiary level education, and all because government is paying little attention.”

His view was supported by Chifundo Kamala who graduated from Chancellor in 2018 after spending six years at the university acquiring a degree in communication and cultural studies, majoring in broadcasting.

Kamala said she felt useless, as she was still unable to find employment.

“I have been to so many places hoping to get a job. Maybe it’s industry’s perception of visually impaired people that’s to blame, but sometimes I think I was not fully equipped by the college. I’ve given up in life,” she lamented.

Ministry of Education spokesperson Lindiwe Chide argued that Malawi has made some strides towards inclusive education.

“I think Chancellor College is doing well – for example, they are doing a project with the African Development Bank on issues of mobility. They’re also putting up ramps and other facilities for students with disabilities.”

Chide admitted, however, that there were:

“…some problems. On those you can contact the university directly. But as far as I know they are doing well in ensuring the environment is as inclusive as possible for all students.”

Asked if the government allocates sufficient funds to inclusive education at Chancellor, Chide replied that she was sure the funding was adequate

“But as you know it is an independent body that does its own budget, so that information should come from the university.”

She did not provide details of how much of the education budget is earmarked for students with special needs. Asked what efforts were made to monitor the implementation of special needs learning at Chancellor, Chide said the ministry relies on the National Council for Higher Education, an arm mandated to monitor tertiary education.

The chancellor of the University of Malawi – of which Chancellor is a component – is Malawi’s president, Peter Mutharika. Asked whether he had used his influence to promote inclusive education at the university, Mutharika said through his press officer Mgemi Kalilani:

“If you look at the University of Malawi Act, the day-to-day running of the university is vested in the university council. The issues you are raising at management and policy levels, squarely lie within the mandate of the university council and university management, and not the office of the chancellor. Google the Act and you will realise that the role of the chancellor is essentially ceremonial.”

He said questions should be directed to the vice-chancellor, the chair of the university council or the university spokesperson.

AmaBhungane has established that the University of Malawi Act of 1998 recognises the position of the chancellor as having some powers, including that of appointing the university council’s board chair.

Online records show that in July 2017 President Mutharika appointed a new university council chairperson, James Maida, in response to disputes between the university council and staff.

Attempts to get comment from the university were met with silence. AmaBhungane first contacted the registrar, Mary Wasili, who failed to answer her phone, or respond to emails and messages over several days.

The vice-chancellor, John Kalenga Saka, referred this reporter to Richard Tambulasi, the university’s principal, who referred her back to the registrar. DM

Grace Khombe is a senior journalist at Zodiak Radio Station in Malawi.