While Allan The Degree Holder has been promoting education, a Malawian has taken things a step further by filing a lawsuit to obtain a master’s degree from the University of Zambia (UNZA).
Susan Mkangama filed a lawsuit against the University Council of Zambia, seeking that it grant her an MBA in strategic management.
She also requests that the council reimburse her for her tuition costs plus interest if it is unable to grant the master’s degree.
In addition, Ms. Mkangama requests that the institution be ordered by the court to pay her damages for annoyance, loss of use of cash, and mental anguish, among other reliefs.
In a statement of claim filed in the Lusaka High Court, the plaintiff alleges that she was at the material times interested to study or major in a Master of Business Administration with UNZA.
She submitted her application to UNZA in the fall of 2019 in order to enroll in the program’s 100% online MDA in Entrepreneurship.
“By an email from the University’s administration dated October 22 2019, the plaintiff was advised that she needed to pay an application fee and submit scanned copies of academic documents,” the document read.
She claims that after carefully reviewing her application, she submitted the necessary paperwork and was officially accepted by letter dated November 1, 2019.
The plaintiff was notified by the school on March 16, 2020, that the Entrepreneurship Program did not have the minimum number of students necessary to open for the March 2020 term.
“The plaintiff was given the option of choosing from four alternative MBA programmes; MBA General, MBA in Finance, MBA in Management Strategy, MBA in Project Management,” the document reads.
She was also told to hold off until May 2020 in case the MBA Entrepreneurship didn’t get enough applicants for the term.
The MBA in Management Strategies was chosen to be pursued by Ms. Mkangama, who paid for it over time.
However at the end of her program, Hebrayo Harerimuna informed her through email on April 22, 2022, that she was lacking some admissions paperwork and had to complete the necessary steps before registering for her master’s thesis.
“Surprisingly, the communication saw the plaintiff being advised that she was required to submit an O’Level Certificate with five passed subjects, a position different from the communication given to her on October 22, 2019,” she submits.
According to Ms. Mkangama, she was also required to provide O Level records or the equivalent for international students, which she properly did. She then received notification that her application had been accepted.
She later discovered, however, that despite having completely completed her studies, the college would not grant her the requisite acquired certifications.
