That Which You Cannot Give Away.......

Sam GM

JF-Expert Member
Mar 3, 2008
535
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This issue of closing our universities really beats my understanding, I remember last year when Dar university was closed. That a learned fellow, Vice Chancellor of Dar University actually can sit down with other Dons to unanimously declare the closure of the University. Is this some sort of an extended high school that they are running or what? think of the implications, exams were actually taking place right then and more exams were slated to follow the following month. Did these learned fellows had an idea what they just did or caused by their actions? Students had to retake the semester, salary had to be paid and if any faculty members were due for sabbatical leaves, vacations or further studies, replacement arrangements had to be incurred. What really beats my understanding here, is that the dons did not have the courage and audacity to have a dialog with striking students. Did the dons even consider other alternatives and available options rather than the ultimatum closure?

This is not an age were threats rules the day,it is hard to comprehend that the Vice Chancellor is not aware of the information power and it's twin sister information era. was it really difficulty to have a dialog? does it really make sense when you intentionally send to shred the progress and intellectual development of our young people? what kind of a society we are trying to create here? You can read here for yourself.

Education is the most valuable asset one can acquire in this world and a one certain anonymous wise person said "That which you can not give away you do not possess, it possesses you" and that is the bottom line about education. Postponing a semester for four months is resoundingly crazy, those Dons should be sent for a mental and psychological evaluation if not extensive treatment. Time stolen from these innocent students can never be recovered in any material sense.And where is the government when all this is happening? Spending mor money on luxury. It is painful to think that the only solution we know best in confrontations and strikes situations in Tanzania is either dismissal(firing a times) or deadly threats. Where has our sanity gone? British Airways workers threaten to have one of the paralyzing stike early last year, and that could have tremendously affected, the industry, travellers and bottom lines, which is the main concern of shareholders. A dialog took place in BA scenario and a compromise was reached, what is so different or peculiar with similar situations when it comes to our beloved Tanzania in comparison to other parts of the world? I just can not comprehend and my mind is really beaten here. Read Here

Two years ago Doctors all over the country went on a strike, and how did the government handled that prevailing situation, they fired most of doctors with unnumbered threats to those that obliged to stay. I have written about doctors saga before, why can't a dialog work in our situations? This goes deeper than we think, we are building a society that will lack conflict management skills, each time there is a confrontation, a strike or even a disagreement, the new generation will do exactly how best they have seen our own acts played, Is this really where we want our youngsters to be. A society that lacks confrontational resolutions can not be able to compete in the world arena in any kind of endeavors be it political, business or trade.

Did these students had valid basis for their demands? oh yes,without a doubt. it is demeaning that a Vice chancellor could try to compare a cost of living to a meagre 3600Tsh meals money that qualified students had been promised for a day's meals. It cost about 700TSh for a drink, soda or any thing, about 700Tsh for chips mayai and what about if you feel like you want to eat just like any other low income citizen in the country, you will definitely go for Ugali mchicha which will cost you 1200Tsh at the University surroundings and its vicinity, so how do you spend this 3600Tsh that the VC is talking about? and the money comes when you have no use for it, it always come late.

A flip side to this is when the government could spend about 33Billion in running its expensive cars for one year.Here you go. If the government could have opted for some other make of cars and not mashangingi, and if the government could have paid all tuition, boarding and meals expenses for 10,000 University students, it could have cost only 15Billion. DAR University students are not even close 10,000.

Why would the government spend billions in non essential gratification while poor students are sent packing from the Univeristy? That really beats my understnding!
 
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