Botswana students in Namibia complain of late fee payments

Staff Writer | Tuesday October 23, 2012 00:00

They fear that they might not be allowed to sit for this semester's examination, as their tuition for this year are also unpaid.  A student, who preferred anonymity, said that the Botswana Embassy in Namibia has failed to give any satisfactory answer as to why the tuition fee has not been paid.

However, he suspects foul play as there is a certain individual at the embassy who always organises with another individual at the university for students to sit for exam though they have not paid their tuition fees. According to the regulations of the university, no student should sit for exams or access their exam results unless they have settled tuition fees for that semester.

'It is not an arrangement between the institutions, but between these two individuals because we are told to ask for a specific person,' he said. He claims that last semester, after it was organised that students sit for exams, students were asked again to ask for the same individual to allow them access to exam results.

'Students went to the embassy to ask why the tuition fee was not paid because the university would not release their results since they still owed money. They were not given any answers. They were instead asked to go see the same individual who would somehow allow them access to their results,' he continued.

Also, students have complained about their allowance of R3020, which they say is not enough to sustain them for a month. They claim that rent in the area is too high and they therefore have to top up their rental allowance just to afford the cheapest house.

'An empty room without a furniture costs at least R1500. These are rooms that would cost about P400, P500 back home,' the student said. 'We still have to buy furniture from the little that we get.' The R1500, he noted, does not include water and electricity bills, which makes it even more costly.

He explained that the only way to get a much cheaper house is to move to shanty locations, which are not suitable for a student and are far from the university. Taxi fares have also increased to R9 a trip, which at times forces them to walk to university for classes.

Meanwhile, an officer from the embassy who refused to divulge his name said  the issue of late payments of tuition fees is an internal matter he would not discuss with the media. He pointed out that he is aware of one student who phoned yesterday morning complaining about unpaid tuition fees. However, he abruptly changed his statement and said that they have been explaining the matter to students, and there should be no confusion.

'We have been talking to students about this matter to explain what is happening. We received several phone calls, but we explained the situation to them,' he said. He caveated that the issue is nothing for students to worry about, but later aforementioned that he actually did not understand the matter.   He said they have not received any complaints of students struggling with money.  'We do not know if any student is struggling to pay rent or other necessary amenities. But if there are any issues of that nature, we will have to discuss the matter with their sponsors,' he said.