Bereng Mpaki
TERTIARY students have threatened to go on strike on Thursday to protest the government’s delay in paying their monthly stipends.
This, after the National Manpower Development Secretariat (NMDS) last week informed the students that their February 2020 allowances would be delayed by a week.
So miffed by the delays are the students that they have vowed to boycott classes on Thursday and stage a joint demonstration against the government by marching to the NMDS offices.
The students normally receive their allowances on the 15th every month and on Friday the NMDS said the disbursements would be delayed due to problems with the government’s financial management system.
Part of the statement from NMDS reads: “The National Manpower Development Secretariat informs tertiary students from local institutions that their monthly allowances will be delayed beyond 15 February 2020”.
“The delay is due to a challenge on the government’s financial system. The secretariat is working to ensure that students receive their allowances by 21 February 2020.
“Students are informed that members of the institutions’ SRCs were sensitised on this challenge and its solution and were asked to inform the students during a meeting on 13 February 2020.
“The secretariat affirms that all relevant parties are working hard to ensure that the students received their stipends by next (this) Friday.”
The tertiary institutions that have government sponsored students include the National University of Lesotho (NUL), Limkokwing University of Technology, Lerotholi Polytechnic, Lesotho College of Education (LCE), Centre for Accounting Studies (CAS) and Botho University among others.
NUL student representative council (SRC) president Reatlehile Makateng said they would meet tomorrow to determine what course of action they would take.
“The SRC is meeting on Monday and it will therefore be clearer after that meeting what course of action the students will take,” Mr Makateng said.