Students of Mapanza Institute of Health Sciences seek court judgment against school

Ninety-two students of Mapanza Institute of Health Sciences Limited have asked the Lusaka High Court to enter judgement in default of appearance and defence against the Institution.

This is in a matter, Fostina Zimba, and 91 other students filed a suit against the learning institution demanding immediate payment of K961,373.40 owed to them by the Institute.

The students are also claiming damages for the fraudulent representations made by the defendant, as they were induced to enrol with the Institute after an assurance that they were eligible to sit for the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Zambia examinations scheduled for November, 2022 .

The defendant had, however, not yet filed its defence in the matter despite having been served the writ of summons and statement of claim.

In a statement of claim, Zimba stated that they enrolled for various courses offered by the institute located in Choma District of Southern Province and regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Zambia.

“The plaintiffs’ enrolment with the defendant was solely made after a representation by the defendant’s agents, servants /employees that they would be eligible to sit for the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Zambia examinations scheduled for November, 2022, without the need of the requisite documents like transfer letters,” she stated.

The plaintiffs stated this was despite the defendant being aware that they were not qualified to sit for the exams due to the lack of the said documents.

Zimba stated that they were only informed about the non-eligibility, two days before the examinations in November, 2022.

“Further, the defendant assured the plaintiff that those that wanted refunds would be refunded while those that wished to continue with their studies were free to do so in the January, 2023 intake,” she stated.

The plaintiffs opted for a refund but till to date, the learning institution had failed to settle the amounts due to them.

In December, last year, the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Zambia (NMCZ) closed operations of the institution because it had not met the standards of a training centre.

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