Diploma students at the Francistown Technical College of Vocational Education (FTCVE) have gone for months without lectures as the institution is said to be running short of qualified personnel.
The students told The Telegraph that they have been forced to fend for themselves as it has been months since they were promised lecturers, but up to now nothing has materialized.
One of the students who was studying for an advanced certificate course in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), said last week that his hopes of commencing a diploma course had gone up in smoke.
Courses that are affected include ICT, travel and tourism, hospitality and business.
“FTCVE is disappointing, as most of the promises that were mentioned during its grand opening day are non- existent. This year we wrote a letter to management, but we have not had any reply,” said the students.
When asked for comment, the Director of the Department of Vocational Education and Training, Bosele Rradipotsane, admitted that FCTVE is running short of lecturers, especially in courses Automotive Mechanics, and Engineering department.
He said that the main problem is that sometimes they cannot retain lecturers because they do not offer competitive salaries.
“Even the scarce skills allowance that was introduced by government, which is almost about 15%, is not enough to retain staff,” he said.
