By CHUSA SICHONE –

UNIVERSITY of Zambia (UNZA) management has announced that the institution will open next month.
UNZA management, however, warned some returning students that they risked not accessing their results if they did not settle the money they owed the institution.
UNZA spokesperson Damaseke Chibale said yesterday that first-year students would report to the institution on October 4, 2015, while returning students would do so on October 11 this year.
The decision to open UNZA follows Government’s agreement to pay the University of Zambia Lecturers and Researchers Union (UNZALARU) K150 million this year of the total K320 million owed to researchers and lecturers.
UNZA lecturers and researchers had vowed not to release students’ results until they were paid what was owed to them, a move which recently sparked demonstrations by irate students.
“Following the resolution of the matters between Government and UNZALARU, UNZA management decided to open the University of Zambia according to schedule, which means first-year students will report on October 4 and returning students will report on October 11.
“And then there is an appeal to some returning students that owe the university to settle their arrears because if they don’t do that will not access their results and this may affect the completion of their programme,” he said.
Mr Chibale said the Government in its roadmap committed itself to paying the K150 million by December this year, while the K170 million balance would be liquidated in the next budget.