FCTVE students boycott classes

VIVIAN NTHWESANE
Correspondent | Wednesday February 24, 2010 00:00

The students presented a petition in which they accused the management of being reluctant to meet them to address their problems.

The students presented a petition in which they highlighted pertinent issues they want addressed such as academic delivery, provision of protective clothing, the hiring of lecturers at the college, the quality of food provided by the catering company as well as lack of entertainment.

In an interview with Mmegi, student representative council (SRC) president, Russia Mokoduwe aged 25, said the catering company provides badly prepared food.

'We want to be given meal allowances just like other vocational training institutions such as Gaborone, Jwaneng and Maun technical colleges. Why should we be treated differently from these other colleges?' he asked.

He further stated that there is daily shortage of food at the campus and many cases of food poisoning.

Mokoduwe also complained about lack of entertainment at the college.

He said the only form of entertainment they have are the computers, which are often used by students for entertainment hence depriving those who want to use them for educational purposes.

Mokoduwe complained that the clinic on campus is not operational raising fears that if students fall sick they will face problems in accessing medical assistance.

The students accused the principal, Fisher Ntshebe, of lack of leadership qualities and highlighted the shortage of learning materials and resources, especially books as their library is filled with computers and only a few books.

When addressing the students, Ntshebe said a lot of things were not done with the current SRC because they are new in office and he has been busy.

He said the programme team leaders have to be introduced to the new SRC so that they can know them.

' Yes its true in some departments, the resources and materials to complete your projects came late or they are still to come.'

 He added, 'There are reasons for that, sometimes you may call them lame reasons but they are for real,' he said.

The principal blamed their suppliers for late delivery of material and said they will soon look for alternative suppliers who are more reliable.

He told the students that their books come from abroad and sometimes there are delays in their delivery.

Ntshebe mentioned recession as a major obstacle for not being given the money to buy protective clothing and he promised the students that they would try to persuade the Ministry of Education to help.

'We had to plead with the Ministry of Education, but we managed to get some money which was also not enough. Some of it has arrived and more is expected to come next week,' he said. The principal told students that the criterion for hiring lecturers is based on their qualifications and he is not the one responsible for hiring. 'We just inform the headquarters that we need lecturers for a particular programme and they advertise. People at headquarters know their job and they employ the right people because they are also professionals, that is my belief,' he said.

He also highlighted that everyone does not know Botswana Technology Education Programme (BTEP)mode of teaching, so lecturers have to learn its facilitation on the job. 'Sometimes that training cannot be enough, I might admit since it might take a week or so,' he added.

 He encouraged students to always go back to their facilitators if they are not coping.

'Do not expect lecturers to do your work and do not wait to be spoon-fed,' he concluded.