By Poloko Mokhele
The National University of Lesotho (NUL) has distanced itself from the Students Representative Council (SRC) president Reatlehile Makateng and three others, saying that it does not recognise them as SRC members.
In a statement released this week, NUL indicated that “the …University… wishes to advise the Student Union (SU), Students Representative Council (SRC) and all stakeholders including the National Manpower Development Secretariat (NMDS) that the University does not recognize four persons who go about claiming to be SRC members at the University and calls on them to desist from holding themselves out as such.” The university said this was due to the fact that the four had completed their studies.
The university’ statement came after a speech that Makateng made at the International Peace Day event hosted by Development for Peace Education in Maseru, where he spoke in his capacity as SRC president.
Makateng, Molemo Jae, Tšepang Tikiso and Phethetso Mashato were elected members of the SRC a few weeks before the end of the previous academic year, which marked the end of their studies at NUL. “They were elected into office way in the middle of the academic year hence they might feel their tenure has not yet ended.”
Makateng served as the SRC president, Jae as secretary general, Tikiso as the minister of finance while Mashato was the minister of sports, arts and culture.
The university has since ordered them to vacate its premises and cease using resources that are earmarked for SRC and SU activities “as they are no longer students of NUL.”
“The four persons have completed their studies at NUL. They have already been awarded degrees by Senate and these degrees will be conferred in the coming graduations in October, 2021. They are, therefore, no longer students but graduands,” the university stated.
The university indicated that the affairs of the students including matters of governance are governed by the Student Union (SU) constitution, “clause four of the SU constitution provides that the SU shall elect, from amongst its members, persons who shall constitute the SRC.
Clause three provides that a student shall be a member of the SU upon registration. This clause is consistent with section two of NUL Act NO. 19 of 1992 that defines a student as a person admitted and registered into an academic programme of the University.”
The statement added that “clause 21.1 (b) of the SU constitution unequivocally provides that a member of the SRC shall cease to hold office when such a member ceases to be a student of NUL. It follows therefore that the four concerned persons ceased to be SU members as well as SRC members on the same date they were awarded degrees by Senate.”
The university said the justification given by the four for clinging to power as SRC members, that there should not be a vacuum in the SRC, is without merit since “clause 22 of the SU constitution anticipates vacancies in the SRC and it provides how such vacancies should be filled. The clause is clear on action that the remaining six members of the SRC should take to fill the vacancies.”
