. . . as students demand registrar’s resignation

Limpho Sello

THE National University of Lesotho (NUL) Students Representative Council (SRC) will tomorrow hold a crunch meeting with the institute’s management amid calls for Registrar Liteboho Maqali-Lerotholi’s to resign.

The SRC had on Wednesday given Ms Maqali-Lerotholi until Friday to resign, after accusing her of incompetence and corruption.

The students’ body accuse the registrar of corruption in the procurement of academic regalia arguing that students should have been given the tender. They want the current deal to be scrapped because one of the suppliers is a Chinese national.

SRC Secretary-General Thato Ponya told the Sunday Express they were also displeased with the increase of food prices in the university’s cafeteria, and the delayed issuance of student identity cards.

He also accused Ms Maqali-Lerotholi of being aloof and hard to reach.

“We always have a challenge of IDs and are told that the machine producing them has broken down when they are supposed to be issued,” he said.

“They just ignore issues that are important to us as students. Therefore, we cannot sit back and allow that. It’s for these reasons that we think it’s time that Ms Lerotholi goes home.”

Mr Ponya said the SRC held a meeting with NUL Vice-Chancellor Nqosa Mahao in which he scheduled a meeting with the university’s management tomorrow.

“During our meeting with the vice-chancellor, he told us that he wants to see progress in addressing our grievances. So, we are open to a discussion that resolves the matter.

“It is very strange that we are able to access the whole vice-chancellor, yet we cannot access the registrar. By right, she is the person who is supposed to address our issues when we put them before her office.”

He added: “Although we are going for talks on Monday, our call for her to resign still stands.”

Efforts to contact Ms Maqali-Lerotholi were fruitless as her private secretary told this reporter she had gone on leave and would only return on Thursday.