ALLOWANCES ISSUE CHAIN PROBLEM IMPACTING MANY

Sir,

There are two types of people, those who have an education and have to fight for employment and those who are fighting to have an education and both do not have it easy. The underlying reality is a bigger problem, making this ‘not so easy’ very difficult and that is the notion that poverty in Eswatini is only high on the condition that we look at figures and are baffled by how so many people are living in poverty. The other side of the coin is the one that rules out the true reflection of those numbers, when one wakes up to go to town and sees everyone walking up and down busy and on the go. The reality becomes distorted because we start to think that poverty is not a real thing, that no one cannot at least have E200 or organise rent money.

Status

When we see people dressed and looking decent, we assume it is a reflection of their status, and the undergoing struggles that students are faced with – the financial tension – has shown that it is not as simple as the side of the coin that distorts reality shows us. The painful encounter of a student trying to sell their bed or a Facebook post of a student selling their belongings in order to make a little something to take home is revisiting the true reflection of the state of this country. These circumstances are showing the depth of our crisis because we get to see how many students are children living in poverty, held by the hope that being at tertiary will give them and their families a better future, until the very same government that has given them this hope by funding their education is the one that lets them down.

Landlords

Today some of these students are faced with expectations from landlords who are looking forward to rent money so they can feed their own families, so they cannot accept sob stories from young people who have not received their allowance and cannot afford to pay rent. This shows that the issue of allowances is a chain problem, impacting one person and the next and so forth. And because of this there are many questions, not only on the safety of students, but also their wellbeing and their capacity to perform, to be able to fight for what they came to tertiary for. Today, a landlord is left with no option but to kick out a student who has been renting their space because they are long overdue on the promise that as soon as government releases their funds they will pay.

Hope

This hope is not only slowly eating at the mental health of the students, but also the families that have hope to finally have someone educated in their families. The fact that government is out of touch with reality also shows the  reason why the cries and actions of students are not met with utmost compassion and understanding to action, but rather they are met with brutality and wrath. This is not only that our government is so far from the truth and understanding the struggles of institutions and students outside of communication, the effort and responsibility to understand on a personal level and through diligence what students are actually going through, and what these students go through. The expectation that learning must go on despite the elephant in the room is disastrous. It is quite sad that government is incapable of taking full responsibility for the students it funds.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: