Times Of Swaziland: UNESWA NEEDS TO REPACKAGE

UNESWA NEEDS TO REPACKAGE
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Editor on 20/10/2024 14:50:00


Madam,
Some years ago employers preferred to Association of Accounting Technicians
(AAT) Diploma-holders to UNESWA Bachelor of Commerce (B.Comm) graduates.
Regarded as the most popular modern apprenticeship pathway in the accountancy
sector, providing unique skills, such as managing companies’ money and
securing business deals and others that make employees thrive in the workplace,
AAT was considered more professional that the B.comm, which was considered more
academic than practical.
However, later the UNESWA Faculty of Commerce radically transformed its B.Comm
programme into a robust course, offering general courses for the first three
years’ leading to a Diploma in Commerce after which successful students
specialised either in management, accounting or marketing. The faculty struck
strategic partnerships with other universities, the private and public sector,
professional organisations, development partners and communities.
Programme
The programme became so successful, that some graduates were spoilt for choice
in terms of job offers. In fact, most did not have to go through the stress of
job seeking, because they were already attached to various entities within both
the public sector and private sector. The key to the success of the programme is
enshrined in the faculty’s mission statement, that is: ‘to develop
programmes that are responsive to the needs of the public, private, and
individual sectors. The faculty's mission is achieved through: Training,
research, community engagement and service, and entrepreneurship.’
The same cannot be said about the Faculty of Humanities. It is unfortunate that,
for years, UNESWA has neglected to resolve the Post Graduate Certificate in
Education (PGCE) dilemma until government decided to halt sponsoring  students
who wish the pursue that Bachelor of Arts in Humanities programme.  Aside from
the fact that the decision to cut scholarships for the BA Humanities programme
seems to be centred around the saturation of the teaching profession, the fact
that those who wish to pursue the BA programme have to pay from their own
pockets means it is reserved for the affluent, much against the principle of
equitable education. Equitable education systems are supposed to ensure that
every student can achieve their educational potential regardless of their
personal or social circumstances.
Stakeholders
The Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) has come out to critisise
the decision by the Minister of Labour and Social Security calling it a move to
frustrate education and a clear indication that education issues should be
addressed by the Ministry of Education and Training and its stakeholders. This
suggests the decision was made without exhaustive consultation with relevant
stakeholders. However, given the saturation of the job market and the fact that
BA graduates are not employable, without the PGCE, it would seem that government
made a good business decision. After all, why continue funding the production of
a product that is not selling?
UNESWA has dropped the ball on this one. There is a need for the university to
repackage its products or programmes to satisfy the job market. Otherwise, there
is a high possibility that more programmes will soon be falling like dominoes
from the government scholarship priority list.  Given the financial challenges
faced by government in other sectors such as health and the noose that seems to
be slowly tightening around corruption, the possibility that this could be a
first step towards the extinction of the government scholarship programme to
divert funds is a scary prospect, for the future of education.
Concerned citizen