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NO CLASSES UNTIL GRIEVANCES MET - STUDENTS

17/11/2020 00:26:00 BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA

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MBABANE - Students from different tertiary institutions in the country vowed not to go back to class until their grievances are attended to.

They made this declaration yesterday at the Cabinet Offices gates in Mbabane when delivering a petition of their grievances pertaining to the awarding of scholarships and student allowances.

The students were led by Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS) President Mlamuli Gumedze in delivering the petition.

Students who took part in the delivery of the petition were from Eswatini College of Technology (ECOT), University of Eswatini (UNESWA), William Pitcher College, Eswatini Christian Medical University (ECMU), Southern Africa Nazarene University (SANU) and Limkokwing University of Creative Technology (LUCT).

Marched

The over 500 heavily-guarded students marched from LUCT in Sidwashini to Cabinet.

Upon their arrival at 1:30pm, Gumedze said they were submitting the petition in full defence of their basic right to education which appears to be under the threat of being denied to them by government.

“We are calling upon government to take education seriously and this must be reflected through the nature in which resources are allocated towards education.

“As students and citizens of the country, our main concern is the economic development and sustainability of our country, especially in such times, whereby all countries across the globe are suffering an economic blow due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. It is a known fact that education is the salvation and primary tool to the development of any nation that seeks to develop,” said Gumedze.

He said it was only through education that the nation could be prepared to grow the economy.

“It is for that reason that we will not allow government to deny even a single one of us the opportunity to learn. We have since observed over the years that government has made it a norm to consistently push students under the bus whenever it feels like doing so,” he said.

Gumedze said it was sad to note that there was a cut-off point in the awarding of scholarships, which led to a cut off in allowances.

Depreciation

“Now, there is a complete depreciation in the level of academic institutions,” he said.

Gumedze said government was aware of the prevailing circumstances in which they were subjected to as students.

“A large number of us are from poverty-stricken backgrounds, while others are from families of the working class which is already suffering the huge taxes demanded by the very same government. It is an economic impossibility to then expect students to self-cater on the huge expenses incurred in tertiary,” he said.

Furthermore, he said they also noted the ignorant attitude of government towards the academic institutions.

He further said their institutions were suffering a huge brain drain, running short of qualified personnel and the necessary infrastructure to provide quality education.

“More so, the academic freedom of students has been put at stake whereby students experience victimisation, in particular, students who have been legitimately elected by the students according to policies and laws of the institutions to be in representation of the student body,” he said.

Gumedze then recommended that government must have a response for the students in two weeks by making sure that all students admitted in tertiary institutions were awarded scholarships, allowances must be increased as informed by the cost of online learning and the process of revising the scholarship policy must begin.

Demanded

He also demanded that students who have been suspended at SANU must be recalled, police brutality must end and declared publicly to be a crime, “government must take it upon itself to end victimisation in the academic institutions, back pay of student allowances from July and that government must increase the subsidy to tertiary institutions to ensure quality education.”

They gave government 24 hours to engage student leaders.

Gumedze revealed that before 2012, all students who were accepted in tertiary institutions were awarded scholarships.

“On-camp students received E16 800 and off-camp students received E26 000,” he said.

This revelation aggravated the students and they started chanting ‘hulumende longacabangeli muntfu’.

The petition was handed over by SNUS Secretary General Simphiwe Dlamini and it was received by Prime Minister’s Office Principal Secretary Lindiwe Mbingo who said she would pass it on to the rightful parties.