Students frustrated by closures, opt to study abroad

MBABANE – Some local tertiary students are now worried about the quality of education offered in local institutions and are now looking for opportunities to study abroad.

The Minister of Labour and Social Security, Phila Buthelezi, said his ministry was noting an influx of students applying for scholarship to study abroad.

Buthelezi said the students included those who were currently enrolled in the local tertiary institutions, and were applying that the scholarship they had to study locally be used to sponsor their programmes in tertiary institutions outside the country.

Buthelezi said when they engaged the students on why they wanted to leave the local institutions, they expressed uncertainty about their future in them.

The minister said the students were worried about the quality of education being compromised by the continued closure of the tertiary institutions.

Closed

It is worth noting that currently, the University of Eswatini (UNESWA) has been closed for almost two months now, following the legal non-stop (waya-waya) strike by some employees over award performances (notching).

The closure happened amid an ongoing strike by members of the Association of Lecturers, Academic and Administrative Personnel (ALAAP).

The strike by the employees was initiated after a deadlock had been reached on the dispute between UNESWA and its employees, where a certificate of unresolved dispute was issued in February this year.

Other institutions that are currently closed include the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology (LUCT) and Ngwane Teachers College. Both institutions were closed after protest actions by students.

The disturbances, which were also prevalent during the COVID-19 era, led to the extension of academic calendars in the different institutions, making semesters to take longer than expected.

In the interview, Buthelezi said the extension in the academic calendars affected the disbursement of allowances for the government-sponsored students. He said the extension in the academic calendars then pushed the students to ask for an extension in their allowances, which was something hard for the ministry because there was no provision for such in the budget for allowances.

Collapse

Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS) said the country’s quality of education was set to collapse if government did not intervene soon.

SNUS Secretary General (SG) Almighty Sukati said the education quality in the country was deteriorating each day due to the prolonged disturbances. Sukati said tertiary students in the country were each day subjected to unconducive conditions in their different institutions. He said the things that were happening in those institutions were affecting the students emotionally and mentally.

Sukati added that some were frustrated by not being granted scholarships, while those who had it were frustrated by delays in the disbursement of personal allowances.

He said the strike by lecturers had complicated the students’ plight.

He noted that all the disturbances were affecting the students as, at the end of the day, the students had to stay longer, trying to finish one semester.

The SG said each student enrolled at UNESWA had the pride of being in a continentally ranked institution but now all that was gone.

He noted that UNESWA used to be labelled the university of choice and that was a pride to students but of late, all that had changed.

Sukati urged the government to intervene in resolving the issues in the tertiary institution sooner before those institutions collapsed.