FCTVE students call for principal to step down
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Monday June 20, 2022 06:00
The students have issued a petition for the principal to step down during their peaceful demonstration, which started on Tuesday this week. On June 14, FCTVE students boycotted their lessons and blocked the main gate entrance to an extent that the police were called in to handle the matter.
The police then came and managed to disperse the students advising the Student Representative Council (SRC) leaders to apply for a permit for their peaceful demonstration.
This is the second time this year FCTVE student went on a peaceful demonstration. Towards the end of April, Business Department students from the same school held a peaceful demonstration accusing the institution’s management of bad leadership.
Among their many concerns were lack of accommodation or unfair distribution of accommodation space to students as well as living allowance. In an interview with the FCTVE SRC president, Mmilili Maphakwane, said that they have written a letter as their official notice regarding a majority vote of no confidence on the principal and the management team. He said after all the grievances they have raised with the school management they find them incompetent due to their lack of actions in resolving pressing academic matters.
Maphakwane elaborated that the school is encountering shortage of lecturers for different courses such as welding and fabrication, hospitality, hair dressing, beauty therapy to mention but a few. “Electrical mechanical Trade Test B students are also in limbo right now as their book keeping lecturer who was borrowed from Shashe River Secondary School does not attend lessons due to lack of transport provision by the school,” said FCTVE SRC president. He further decried shortage of work suits, something they have long raised with the school management and can now be deemed as negligence on their part.
FCTVE SRC vice president Reginald Badi complained about allowance accreditation for first year students. He said most of the off-campus students have not received their sponsorship letters from the school hence the delay on their allowance. Badi stated that most of the first year students have not received their allowance since they began school in November last year. “The situation is unbearable as the same students use the money to contribute for their rental, transport and projects,” said the concerned Badi. A Culinary Arts student, Tsaone Mothudi, declared that they are in their second semester and have not received any practical lessons due to shortage of ingredients and protective clothing.
She said that up-to-date they have not received their first semester results something, which could be blamed on shortage of teachers. Another student Omphemetse Sampe, 25, stated that off campus students live in nightmare under the current management. According to Sampe, they have voted that the school management should cancel catering services so that they get an allowance of P1,350 but nothing has changed. “My dream is shattered each and every day because of how management is handling students' welfare.
At first we voted against receiving meals from the refractory. How is P300 supposed to sustain off campus students when they are expected to pay rent, buy food and transport at the same time?” wondered Sampe.
He said they get the same share as on campus students whereas they get four meals a day and they get two. Unlike other technical colleges, FCTVE remains the only technical college, which does not offer meal allowance as students are catered for at the refractory. When reached by this publication on Thursday, Tobedza could not comment as he was still addressing the students.