The Ministry of Education has found itself entangled in a legal battle with the students of Limkokwing, through its Student Representative Council (SRC) over its failure to meet its promise of crediting the student with their June ÔÇô July 2009 living allowance.
The Chairman of Non Academic Affairs of the Limkokwing SRC, Tswelelang Maswabi, has confirmed the case, saying the main reason for suing the Ministry is for the unprofessional inconvenience the ministry has caused them.
Maswabi said that they had received a letter on the 27th of March, notifying them of the cessation of off campus allowances during the long vacation of December-January, but while they rested assured that with all other vacations they would receive their allowances, word filtered to them that the MoE would not be paying allowances for the month of June-July.
Upon hearing the news, they approached the MoE where they were assured that they would receive their allowance.
On June 1, the student SRC President went to the MoE where he was again assured that they will get their allowances and even served with a confirmation letter informing the student community that their allowances would be credited on or before the 5th of June.
But Maswabi says while still waiting, another letter from the Permanent Secretary, Ruth Maphorisa, arrived on the 3rd of June informing them that student living allowances would not be credited. He said the reason given was that UB students will not be getting any allowance, therefore, it would be fair if the directive applied to all.
Maswabi says though they are faced with financial constraints they are determined to carry on. He added that despite students being broke, they had been supportive as they had donated towards raising funds for the legal battle.
He said that Limkokwing is not offering any help, and that, as a result, this had affected students as some had been reported to the police by their landlords for failure to pay rent.
Maswabi said they had lodged the case at the High Court in Lobatse and are represented by Monthe Marumo and Company. He urged the student community to attend the hearing on Monday (tomorrow) 10 a.m. at the Lobatse or at the Block 7 Limkokwing campus.
When contacted for comment, the Public Relations Officer of the MoE, Nomza Zuze, said she could not comment as she had no information on the matter and directed Sunday Standard to Permanent Secretary Maphorisa who could not be reached at the time of going to press.
