PUBLIC STATEMENT ON ALLEGATIONS OF SEX FOR GRADES AT MZUZU UNIVERSITY

A story titled “Allegations of Sexually Transmitted Grades at Mzuzu University: Graduate Accuses Lecturer of Demanding Sex for Academic Favour” which was published by Malawi 24 and is circulating on social media platforms has come to the attention of Mzuzu University (MZUNI).

It is regrettable to note that while the article claims to have contacted the Assistant Registrar

(Public Relations and International Affairs) to get MZUNI’s side of the story, such an effort was not made to give MZUNI a fair presentation of such issues considering the seriousness of the alleged practice.

MZUNI takes the allegation levelled in the story on sextortion seriously and would like to clarify that it has formulated a number of policy reforms to ensure the University provides an excellent atmosphere for delivery of credible higher education.  It has in place a Fraud and Corruption Prevention Policy which has established the Institutional Integrity Committee (IIC) in collaboration with the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), to be dealing with such issues as we believe sextortion is a form of corruption. The IIC is entrusted with receiving complaints on corruption and investigating them. Students and staff are therefore encouraged to report such issues to the IIC or ACB. In addition, the University has undertaken initiatives to enhance its Staff Code of Conduct and Ethics. It has in place the Gender Policy and also formulated the Sexual Harassment Policy towards ensuring professional and moral standards in the University. In this regard, the public should be assured that an investigation regarding the current matter reported on social media is being carried out and appropriate action will be taken, informed by the findings. 

Mzuzu University takes great pride in upholding the highest standards of integrity and wishes to collaborate with all stakeholders to root out the vices that undermine credibility of higher education delivery. We remain committed to ensuring that accurate information is provided to the public, to which we are accountable as a public University.

For further inquiries or clarifications, please contact:

University Registrar

Mzuzu University

Private Bag 201

Luwinga

Mzuzu 2

E-mail: info@mzuni.ac.mw

Dated: Monday 8th April, 2024