Internal wars within the Religious Education Department at the Molepolole College of Education took another twist this week over some lecturers alleged incompetencies. Sources at the institution say 28 second year students; 22 who major in Religious Education (RE), while the other six take it as a minor, were startled on Tuesday (when the college opened) when their results were published on provisional basis. Uncertainty built as the students wondered whether they would proceed to the next level or would be required to re-do the subject.
In an interview with sources at the heart of the conflict Mmegi established that the issue resulted from a decision by the RE Head of Department (HOD), Mercy Rakhudu to reduce students' marks during her external moderation.
"The HOD drastically reduced the marks and grades because the markers (names withheld) had awarded marks for wrong and incorrect responses and passed them to the academic registry without consulting the involved lecturers," a source said. The college's Academic Affairs Board Council met to discuss these results, which compared to other years, have dropped significantly. Here members of the board agreed that the results be released on provisional basis. Other HODs met on Wednesday to discuss a way forward on the issue as students would demand explanations about the provisional status of their grades.
