ZANIS- Students at Mwense Trades Training Institute in Luapula Province, who are being sponsored using the Constituency Development Funds (CDF) Skills Bursaries component are concerned with the continued lack of Lecturers at the institute.
The students disclosed that they go for months without lecturers and that they are being forced to write exams despite failure by the institution to provide them with adequate lessons.
Speaking when Chifunabuli District Commissioner, Stanley Mukosa in the company of Chifunabuli Constituency Development Fund monitoring team visited students from Chifunabuli District, Annette Salangeta , a student pursuing a two year craft program in General Agriculture complained that they did not have any lecture in the first term of being in school.
She disclosed that in the second term they only learnt for two months and that the lecturer has since left the school.
“My biggest complaint is that the learning pattern here is not good, I reported last year in May pursuing General Agriculture and throughout the term, we did not have any lecturer, the following term was the same, we only learnt for two months and the lecturer we had left,” she explained.
She narrated that the third term was still the same as they did not have any lecturer but that at the end of the year, students were tasked to write exams from Mansa Trades Training Institute.
“The third term was still the same, we did not have any lecturer and never learnt but the school took us to Mansa Trades where we were made to sit for exams despite having learnt little or nothing at all, we found questions in the exam papers new as we did not learn anything,” she lamented.
Ms Salangeta said this year’s May term has been the same as they are hardly learning but the school will again make them sit for exams.
“We are now in year two which began in May and it has been the same, we have been here for three weeks but do not have a lecturer in Rural Sociology and Inclusive Development when we ask management as to what is happening, they are only promising us but we are not seeing the lecturers and at the end of it all, we are failing our exams and months are moving,” she said.
And Mwense Trades Administration Officer, Bernadette Mwelwa explained that due to the institution’s location, the school faces challenges in the recruitment of lecturers but assured that management is looking into the matter.
“The challenge that we face as Mwense Trades mostly when it comes to the recruitment process is that, it is a bit slower than it should be maybe because of the location of the school, there are certain professions that do not prefer to be in such a location and that has been proven in Automotive Mechanics department,” she explained.
Ms Mwelwa said for someone to come to a location like Mwense trades, the school has to put a very good offer on the table and that some of the lecturers left once they found employment elsewhere.
And responding to management’s explanation, Chifunabuli District Commissioner, Stanley Mukosha was worried at the time that was being lost.
“I have heard your explanation but the question is how are students going to recover on lost time? because if the contract is for one year and they lose out on four months, how are they going to have quality skill because the Government will not go beyond that stipulated one year paying for them,” he said.
Mr Mukosa said the decentralisation policy is aimed at having people in these districts who are going to actualise what the government wants but that without proper and quality learning which the school is supposed to provide, it will be difficult for them to deliver the right skills.
“The decentralisation policy is aimed at having people in these districts with the right skills, people who are going to actualise that which the Government wants but without proper and quality skills which you are supposed to provide them with, it will be very difficult for them to deliver the right skills. They have lost time, the Government would lose resources and this being a Government institution, we need to push the its agenda and do what is right,” he said.
He has since tasked the institution to look into the matter as soon as possible and ensure that students are lectured for them to have the right skills.
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