The students, who sang freedom struggle songs on their way to present a petition to the Minister of Education, Jacob Nkate said that they would continue the class boycott until their grievances are resolved. "If they do not resolve these issues we will not go back to class. We will just go to school early as usual but won't go for the lessons. We will continue our peaceful demonstrations on campus without vandalising anything," Vice chairperson of the Students Representative Council Gabriel Modise said yesterday.
The students are complaining about the BTEP course that is not recognised by private companies, thus making it difficult for graduates to find jobs. They also indicated that GTC has for a long time been experiencing a critical shortage of lecturers. The students charged that the college is also poorly managed, resulting in the late issuing of certificates. The other thorny issue is the Students Code of Conduct book, which they want "reviewed as it is outdated". The scholars are also unhappy about the grant/loan scheme that they say is not favouring current students because it is open only to students enrolling this year, excluding others who enrolled late last year and are in need of the allowances to sustain themselves in cosmopolitan Gaborone.
