Compliments of the season

| Thursday January 21, 2010 00:00

The second semester has just begun and on Tuesday, 5th January, my child went to join the long queue (this has unfortunately become a disturbing culture at this institution despite all the technology at its disposal) to pay her fees. From there she proceeded to the finance office to get unblocked to enable her register at her faculty. Surprisingly, she was issued with a print out that states that as an alien she is categorized as an 'international student' and as such she has to pay another fee called international administrative fee before she could be unblocked and then register for the second semester.

She called me on her mobile to relay the message to me and I came to the university to seek clarification. I went to the finance office where it was confirmed by a staff member.

Needless to say, I received the news with shock and disbelief since I had not planned or budgeted for it. Unfortunately the officer could not answer the plethora of questions I posed to him. He politely told me he was only following instructions from his bosses. I had no choice but to look around for a loan to pay the following day since my child has to register in order to study, anyway.

Surprisingly, even expatriate employees of the University who are studying or whose children/spouses are studying there are not exempted from this fee. They are all classified under 'international students', yet they have not been officially informed by the university about the directive. Is this fair? It is even more amazing to note that everybody (university management) is quiet on this issue; nobody wants to talk about it! They know that the affected students have no choice but to accede to the directive if they want to continue of UB administration does not border on arrogance and incompetence then what is it?

We have a few genuine questions that we ache to have answers to. Why did the university fail to communicate to the affected students/sponsors in advance so they could advise themselves? To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

Was somebody sleeping on his/her job? When did the authorities take this decision and why did they consider it prudent to rush for its implementation during this second semester but not at the beginning of 2010/2011 academic year? Is it a way of generating easy income for the university? Did the authorities seriously consider the inconvenience and financial repercussions that the surreptitious implementation of this policy could have on expatriate parents who are trying hard to educate their families at this institution? Are the authorities aware that some expatriate parents have two or more children studying at UB? And where are they going to get money to pay this exorbitant fee at this time of the month? Are the authorities aware that some foreign students at UB are on sponsorship from local and international organizations and that deliberately concealing this vital information from them till registration period could seriously affect their registration and even their studies as their sponsors have no knowledge about this additional fee? We are at a complete loss to comprehend if this is not a calculated move to embarrass and/or humiliate non-Batswana students and their sponsors. Otherwise we fail to recognize the motive behind this hasty decision. This is blatant abuse of authority!

We strongly feel that the university blundered (and the authorities know it) by not communicating to affected students in advance and have thus gravely inconvenienced them and their sponsors. We call on the authorities to communicate as soon as possible to affected students so they could dispatch the circular to their sponsors. We further call on the authorities to seriously consider the implementation of the policy at the commencement of the 2010/2011 academic year in August to give sponsors ample time to plan their finances. We request the authorities to come out to apologise to affected students and their sponsors for being apathetic and lukewarm in discharging their duties.

Furthermore we request UB to reconsider its categorization of 'international students' to reflect international standards. Who is truly an 'international student' at UB? Is it the child of an expatriate teacher at Naledi Senior Secondary School who pays tax to the Botswana Government or the child of a Kenyan politician who decides to sponsor his boy for studies at UB? Honestly, somebody must take a second look at this issue.

It cannot be gainsaid that foreign students at UB and their sponsors are major stakeholders of this institution. The presence of these students at this university, no doubt, promotes cultural diversity by producing vibrant multi-cultural community that share and learn from each other. This gives the institution its true universal and international colour.

It is in light of this that we consider it unfortunate and disturbing the decision by the authorities to ignore and sideline these important stakeholders in decision making. We urge the university management to be more proactive and humane when dealing with people irrespective of their nationality. We think the spirit of 'botho' should be the guiding principle when handling issues of such nature.

Finally, let it be mentioned that the University of Botswana has come of age. It prides itself as the premier university. But unfortunately in 2010 it is still being run and managed like an overgrown senior secondary school. It is about time all the dead woods and square pegs in round holes are flushed out to pave the way for smart, proactive and hard working professionals who truly share the vision and aspirations of the institution and are prepared to deliver quality and efficient services. There should be no room for mediocrity.

The university needs to seriously reinvent itself and change its style of management, if not its dream of striving 'to be a leading centre of academic excellent in Africa and the world' will remain a mere mirage.

Josvic Mullen
GABORONE