STUDENTS LIVING ALLOWANCE MOTIONMembers of Parliament have deferred a motion on the review of the tertiary students’ living allowance that was moved by MP for Okavango, the Honourable Bagalatia Arone to June/July 2014 Parliament session. The MPs advised that the motion be rephrased, because as it was, it implied that the cutting of the students’ allowance from P1920 to P1420 had increased their stress and reduced their academic excellence.The motion requested government to review the tertiary student living allowance in view of the escalating rental costs and the general high cost of living to reduce stress to promote academic excellence.MP Arone moved that the issue of tertiary students’ living allowance needed to be given attention as it touched on welfare and issues of motivation. He said the current rate at which students’ allowance was packed was low and could no longer afford students’ rentals, transport, toiletry and other means, because the cost of living had gone up.The tertiary students living allowance, he said was P1920 per month, but had since been reduced to P1420 per month. Therefore, given the current cost of living, Hon. Arone said the time had come for government to review with a positive view of increasing the allowance. He said it was upon the Ministry of Education and Skills Development to look at the cost of living in the city and be able to give an appropriate allowance to the students, “so that at the end of the day they are able to focus.”Okavango MP said there were allegations that tertiary students had been tempted “to engage in unbecoming or unacceptable behaviour because they are under pressure to make ends meet with the little P1420.” The legislator said Parliament needed to do something to protect the students by requesting the Ministry of Education and Skills Development to look into the issue of the students’ allowance.Debating the motion, before it was deferred, education and skills development minister and also Serowe South MP, the Hon. Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi, rejected the motion saying “under normal circumstances these are issues one wants to respond to positively, if money was available to throw at all the problems that come at us.” Unfortunately, she said, money was never available to throw at problems, adding that “throwing money at problems isn’t always the solution, particularly when you are dealing with young ones. It does not always teach them about life, about the realities of life”.However, the hon. Venson-Moitoi said she was not denying that there were hardships that students faced. “No one is denying the continued escalation in the cost of living; no one denies that what we used to pay for a loaf of bread is no longer what it used to be. No one is denying that it used to be P500 for groceries- for the whole month,” she said. We can no longer live on P500, even in a week because of recession, this is a fact. It is used to be like that at the household, but this has not just hit the household, it has hit government as well,” she added.The Trade and Industry Minister, Ms Dorcas Makgato-Malesu also rejected the motion, saying it was about time that government considered paying tertiary students’ living allowance only for students whose parents could not afford. She said the allowance was never meant to cover for all the students’ costs of living, adding that it was important that the allowance only be paid for those who really needed it. The Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, the Hon. Mokgweetsi Masisi, also rejected the motion, saying he could not support the motion for expediency. “It’s been made very clear that we are in an economic recession. The deficits that we have been experiencing, including the deficits that we are going to realise in the current financial year are known to us more than the average citizen,” he said.MP for Gaborone South, the Hon. Kagiso Molatlhegi also rejected the motion. He suggested that Government should come up with a long term solution to the whole problem of tertiary funding. Hon. Molatlhegi said the government’s tertiary education sponsorship and tertiary students’ living allowances should only be paid for students whose parents completely could not afford to pay.Some of the legislators who supported the motion were the MP for Selebi Phikwe West, Hon. Gilson Saleshando, MP, Kgalagadi North MP, Hon. Phillip Khwae, and MP for Tonota North, Hon. Fidelis Molao.They said allowances were a loan and students would pay it back once they resumed their employment. When Government paid the tertiary students a living allowance, the legislators said this was an investment on the future and performance of the students as the future leaders of the country. Therefore, they pleaded that Government do everything in its power to invest on tertiary students’ performance #BWG
Posted on: Tue, 26 Nov 2013 06:57:22 +0000
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