21 Feb 2019

Issues raised by students of Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN) during their recent class boycotts have been significantly addressed and being closely monitored, says Assistant Minister of Agricultural Development and Food Security, Mr Kostantinos Markus.

He said the students raised issues that they were not happy with which covered the following: The state of accommodation and learning infrastructure (hostels and lecture theaters); lack of sports kits and equipment; coordination of field practical training; lack of maintenance of the student refectory facilities and the need to contract a second catering company; inadequate number of wardens, and the need to market university programmes.

Member of Parliament for Gaborone North, Mr Haskins Nkaigwa asked the assistant minister what caused the recent students’ strike or class boycotts at BUAN, and what has been done to address the concerns raised by the students.He also wanted to know when their concerns would be addressed to avoid future strikes or class boycotts, and what was causing the delay in addressing their concerns since the same issues had been raised for the past five years.

Mr Markus said the university submitted status reports to the parent ministry on a regular basis, noting, however, that it was worth pointing out that infrastructure refurbishment and facilities developments were part of the medium to long-term ongoing projects of the transformation process.

The assistant minister further said the delay in addressing students concerns was mainly attributed to limited resources and capacity within the university, which were being addressed by the ongoing transformation process. He said his ministry was monitoring the transformation progress and allocated resources based on the university annual plans though funding remained a challenge. ENDS