University of Botswana students support their lecturers during their on-going industrial action.
Amantle Rebaone, a UB student, told the Sunday Standard that the current strike has inconvenienced her but feels the Staff is justified in their complaints.
“Our lecturers deserve a pay rise; they work just as hard as all the administration people. The Administration issues need to be settled soon because it’s disrupting our classes. Yesterday I went to the library and there was no service offered,” she lamented.
The escalating tension between staff and UB management has left many students in limbo as there seems to be no clear indication as to whether the on-going strike by the institutions staff will end soon.
Some students have been left wondering what is going to happen to their school work as there is a void created by the four days of no teaching and there seems to be no clear end to the current deadlock that management and staff find themselves in.
In an interview with Sunday Standard, Thuto Tsiang expressed uncertainty over campus activities whilst at home and the problems it has caused.
“I never know whether there is class, I just come to school and have to find out for myself,” he said.
He further expressed his frustration at the lack of communication and the costs he has had to bear.
“I have wasted my money coming here this week, but what I don’t understand is how some people have been writing tests during the strike, so does that mean their lecturers are not striking,” he said.
A third year student, Thando Banda, told the Sunday Standard that the UB management let the issues drag on for too long and that UB management should not have allowed things to go this far. It could have been resolved at table.
The University of Botswana Student Representative Council (SRC) read out a proposal by management of the university that suggests that the institution closes at a later day than scheduled to make up for the days of the strike.
When asked if he felt the strike hindered him in any way, Paul Monametsi seemed unperturbed at the current activities on campus.
“I like it (the strike); it gives me time to attend to my leisurely activities.”
