Swazi Media Commentary: William Pitcher College

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Monday, 4 November 2019

Swaziland students boycott classes as Govt. breaks promise to pay allowances

Students in Swaziland (eSwatini) boycotted classes and at least one college has been closed after the government failed to honour its promise to pay allowances.

Some students have been without payment for the past two months.

The William Pitcher teacher training college at Manzini was closed down indefinitely, according to a report from the Swaziland Youth Congress.

Students at the Southern Africa Nazarene University at Manzini have also boycotted classes.

The government fails to pay allowances on time most years and boycotts routinely take place. In September 2019 students only agreed to return to classes after the government promised to double their allowances and pay it monthly. No payments have been made in the past two months.

A statement from the SANU student representative council (SRC) said it wanted the immediate release of book, practical and monthly allowances; scholarship for all students admitted at the institution and allowances to be increased to meet students’ economic needs.

SANU SRC Secretary General Colani Khulekani Maseko sustained serious injuries during a confrontation with other non-protesting students and was admitted to the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital, the Observer on Saturday reported.

It said some students who were not government sponsored wanted to continue with classes. Police were called to SANU after students marched on the university administration.

SANU SRC President Tholumuzi Gubevu Simelane told the newspaper the first day of class boycott was a huge success. ‘The boycott continues until our demands are met,’ he said.

The Swazi News reported Simelane said the students were concerned about government’s inability to uphold its agreement to pay their monthly allowances within a period of 30 days. This was stipulated by a clause contained in the pre-service tertiary education study loan agreement form the students signed in September 2019.

Simelane said they had not received their allowances for September and October.

In a letter to tertiary institutions the Ministry of Labour and Social Security said payments had been delayed because it did not have all students’ bank details.

Monday, 12 February 2018

STUDENTS MARCH ON GOVERNMENT

University students in Swaziland have boycotted classes and marched on the government protesting against unpaid and inadequate allowances.

The University of Swaziland (UNISWA) and the Southern African Nazarene University (SANU) have been affected.

The problem of delayed student allowances is not new as public services across the kingdom have been hit by the Swazi Government mishandling of the economy. Hospitals and health centres have run dry of medicines and blood. Schools are unable to run vital food programs for starving children and schools are without teachers.

SANU students were due to march and deliver a petition to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the Swaziland Higher Education Council (SHEC) on Monday (12 February 2018). The petition came after a class boycott that started at the previous Wednesday and is continuing.

Students at SANU have a number of issues included in their petition including delayed payment of allowances for first-year students, withholding of ongoing students allowances, unreasonable allowance reduction, lack of project allowances, exorbitant fees and poor infrastructure.

Students at UNISWA have also boycotted classes and marched to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security in protest over delayed and inadequate allowances. A total of 634 students received their allowances last Wednesday but this did not end the protests as this did not include students at UNISWA’s main Kwaluseni campus.

At the end of January 2018 at least 11 students from Swaziland Christian University were arrested protesting about delays in receiving allowances and problems over graduation. A local newspaper report said police fired live bullets during the protest.

Meanwhile, William Pitcher Teacher’s Training College is also closed indefinitely after a strike over allowances. The students were ordered to vacate the premises and those who were to be found on the premises were informed that they would be charged with trespassing.

The Swazi Government always delays payment of allowances at the beginning of university semesters and this leads to student protests. After the start of the previous semester in October 2017 armed police entered college campuses in Swaziland as students across the kingdom ruled by King Mswati III as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch boycotted classes.

Police were at the UNISWA; the private university, Limkokwing; and also at the William Pitcher teacher training college. Campuses had been closed and reopened across Swaziland several times since the semester began nearly two months previously. The Government had promised to pay all allowances by the end of September but this had not been done.

The Times of Swaziland reported at the time that an officer from the riot squad the Operational Support Service Unit (OSSU) injured his hand at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology when a stun grenade prematurely went off.

Wednesday, 3 February 2010

SWAZI COLLEGES CLOSED - UPDATE

The following is a report from the Times of Swaziland (the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper) today (3 February 2010) concerning the closure of tertiary colleges following student protests.

MBABANE – Four colleges have been closed indefinitely owing to unprecedented uproar as students demanded increased personal allowances.

The four colleges are the Swaziland College of Technology (SCOT), Ngwane Teachers College, Nazarene Teachers Training College and William Pitcher.

Most affected was SCOT, which was still assessing the cost of damage incurred when rioting students vandalised property on Monday.

SCOT Principal Casper Dube said the college was closed by the students. ‘It is the students who refused to go to class.

‘They said they would return after Parliament had passed a law for the increase in allowances. This left us without an option but to close the college because the mandate of the students is to learn not to boycott classes.’

Dube said the college was still assessing the worth of damage incurred.

William Pitcher Deputy Principal Philemon Gumedze said the college administration issued a memorandum informing all pupils that the college had been closed indefinitely yesterday.

‘The students boarded buses in the morning and left for Mbabane.

‘They will know that the college was closed when they return. Some who remained behind have already left for home. We do not know how long the college will close, but all will depend on the student’s willingness to learn,’ he said.

Ngwane Teacher Training College Principal Amos Mahlalela also confirmed that the college had been closed indefinitely yesterday.

This was after almost all students boarded buses to Mbabane, where they intended to meet Ministry of Education and Training officials.

‘There was nothing we could do to make them go back to class. You can take a horse to the river, but cannot force it to drink. We have reported to the ministry and subsequently closed the college,’ he said.

About five people caused the closure of Nazarene Teachers Training College.

It is said that the people who posed as students from different tertiary institutions stormed the college at about 10am, demanding that their colleagues join them in a march.

Seeing that they might vandalise property, the college’s principal who only wanted to be identified as make Mbingo, said they called the police who arrived promptly.

‘When they saw the police, they ran away. And that is when we got a chance to address our students.

‘In order to protect their lives and property, we informed our students that the college will be closed indefinitely,’ Mbingo said.

The closure of the colleges brings to five the number of institutions of higher learning which closed this year, after the University of Swaziland.

Link http://www.times.co.sz/index.php?news=14096

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