KWALUSENI STUDENTS WANT CISCO MAGAGULA TO RESIGN

UNISWA Kwaluseni Campus students march towards the institution’s main gate during the class boycott yesterday. (Pics: Sibusiso Zwane and Nosipho Shongwe)

MANZINI – UNISWA Kwaluseni Campus students want the institutions’ Vice Chancellor Cisco Magagula to resign within 48 hours.

This was said during a meeting held at the university yesterday morning as the students gathered to forge a way forward on their second day of the class boycott.

The students who made submissions before a group of over 400 others gathered on the university’s lawn said instead of the university ordering them to vacate the campus within 48 hours of a continuous class boycott, they felt that Magagula should do the honourable thing and resign.

“Since 2011 we have been petitioning this institution on the same issues. We have always complained about the food served in the campus refectory, we have complained about the midnight raids and the late dispatchment of allowances to students,” said Celumusa, one of the students.
He said it was high time Magagula was petitioned to resign within 48 hours as he has failed to address their issues.

The students also unanimously agreed that even if the university issued them with a memo to vacate the institution’s premises they would not but would instead wait until they are forcibly removed as each time they left, their grievances were not resolved.

“Students, do not be afraid. Even if it calls for a week or a month for us to push this agenda, we will do so. I have been here since 2010 and I’m used to this, they should just tell lecturers not to come here until our issues are all sorted out,” Mngisi Matsebula submitted to loud cheers from the attentive students.

When interviewed yesterday evening, Kwaluseni SRC Chairman Mancoba Shongwe said although students had indicated that they wanted to petition Magagula, the petition was not delivered by end of business yesterday.

“We have met with the university administration on our boycott and we will be addressing students on what we discussed.
Acting UNISWA registrar Dr Salebona Simelane declined to comment on the students’ intention to petition Magagula.

He said until UNISWA management received the petition, he would not comment on such a highly personal issue concerning Magagula.
 “We met with students and made it clear that while some of their concerns were long standing such as the issue of late allowances, the onus lay firmly with their sponsor, which is government. The university is just a channel of distribution and the sponsor decides when to release or not release allowances,” Magagula explained.

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