UB salary demands a smokescreen to disparage Vice- Chancellor
Iwish to reflect on last week’s commentaries by your Newspaper ( Botswana Guardian) and the Sunday Standard on the conduct of Professors at UB. I must hasten to mention that it’s obviously not all Professors at UB given my interaction with many progressive professors at the institution. I’ve just returned from Europe after completing my PhD studies and I recently attended a meeting called by the Vice- Chancellor when he addressed new employees and those who have just returned to UB after completion of their studies. The Vice- Chancellor talked about the critical need for the University to transform so that it plays a meaningful and impactful role in contributing towards economic growth of the country. In his message, he put research and innovation as a cornerstone to the University being in a position to play this role. The Vice- Chancellor also spoke extensively on staff welfare and touched on Management’s efforts in working with Government to support salary adjustment for UB staff. I certainly agree with the Union leadership that salaries must be adjusted upwardly and have no reason to doubt the Vice- Chancellor’s assertion that he and his team have been in touch with Government motivating for salary adjustment for UB staff. The Vice- Chancellor’s interaction with us was refreshing and well received.
Though I support the Union’s call for improvement in salaries, I find it very troubling that it seems the salary issue is used as a smokescreen to disparage and insult the Vice- Chancellor and in the process diminish the great strides the University has made in moving from an era of mediocrity to excellence. There are many positive things the university is doing including the significant improvement in the citation and impact of research coming out of UB.
The UB Union leadership seems to hate the Vice- Chancellor for calling us ( UB staff) to improve on our work ethics so that we become a credible institution that is recognised for academic excellence. I have come to realise that the worst performers at UB are those that detest the transformation that the Vice- Chancellor is calling for. There are a number of public research performance assessment sites where one can check the research profile of scholars or academic staff, and these include scopus and google scholar. I checked these and I was shocked by the research performance of those calling for the Vice Chancellor’s head. The performance was dismal if not outright embarrassing. What saddened me most was that these individuals are professors and senior lecturers.
Their research profiles do not even fit what could be expected of junior lecturers. One wonders how on earth these individuals were promoted to professor positions. Frankly and with all respect promoting these individuals to professor and senior lecturer positions was an insult to the academic profession. I call upon the Vice Chancellor to rescind these promotions if it was possible. After my perusal of the performance of those who detract the University from moving forward, my suspicion that the Vice Chancellor was only detested for calling for UB’s transformation was completely confirmed. Instead of working hard, these individuals choose to insult the Vice Chancellor.
The University of Botswana must be saved from these detractors. There are many things promoted by the Union leadership that really shock me – three months ago I successfully received a research grant from a European Organization and when I shared this with a senior academic staff ( who is a keen disciple of the union leadership) in my department, he said to me I’m working too hard and will ‘ come down to earth very soon’.
He felt I should do little and not bother myself with attracting research funds. Many of young researchers and new staff are constantly told to do little. We are even told not to promote the University by wearing UB apparel. It’s all- round shocking and shameful that the Union leadership can promote such about an institution that pays them for doing nothing. The utterances and behaviour of the Union leadership does great disservice to all credible professors and staff at UB who take them seriously and wish to contribute meaningfully to society.