Students should heed positive spirit at MoE

Editor | Friday February 1, 2008 00:00

The latest developments could be pointers that the ministry has effectively become a listening establishment. This is a highly commendable positive development. This week the Minister of Education, Jacob Nkate, officially received 19 buses to be used for school trips. Just this week when the ministry officials were confronted with a student class boycott over the untenable and unhygienic situation at the Tlokweng College of Education (TCE), the ministry promptly responded by setting in motion renovations at a cost of P2 million at that institution. The most heartening occurrence came when the ministry officials readily acknowledged the magnitude of the problem, even apologising for the delay in addressing them. This is a far cry from the ministry's previous defensive approach. 

The TCE students had also raised concerns regarding the quality of food served in their refectory and called for the engagement of an external catering company. The ministry appears not to be averse to that proposal either, but reasoned that securing such services would involve a tendering process. We understand the students have unanimously agreed to resume classes but they were not yet decided on whether to continue taking their meals from the refectory. We would encourage them to take their meals. After all, the ministry has promised to also attend to that problem. There has also been a class boycott that started last week by the students at the Gaborone Technical College (GTC). They presented a four-point petition to the ministry last week Thursday that covered allowances, the Botswana Technical Education Programme (BTEP) course content, course duration and poor management. 

As we understand it, the ministry responded to the petition in writing and the students felt the response did not address their concerns adequately. The ministry then proposed a meeting between the GTC student representative council (SRC) and the minister. Instead of taking the opportunity to meet the minister the students ungratefully insisted the minister hold a public meeting with the whole student body. We believe the meeting between the minister and the SRC could have been more productive than a public one. It is therefore in the students' interest to go back to the negotiating table. In fact, we encourage them to return to the classes while the SRC simultaneously engages the authorities.

                                                         Today's Thought
Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.

                                                         - Carl Gustav Jung