The stink of NUL
By Scrutator
| S |
CRUTATOR has always known that a Bachelor of Education degree is one of the easiest courses at the National University of Lesotho (NUL).
It’s a degree that is more difficult to fail than pass. In fact, you have to work extra hard to fail it.
You have to sweat not to pass that course.
This, by the way, is not a perception but a fact.
It is not by default that everyone who has been rejected from other courses normally finds their way to the Faculty of Education.
At NUL, a degree in education is the gateway to graduation.
If you think Scrutator is kidding or being malicious then ask the teachers around.
They will tell you they never had so much fun like they did when they were doing that course at NUL.
Some will tell you that while high school gave them nightmares that course gave them wet dreams.
Scrutator has a few teacher friends who confess that they snored through their years at NUL but still got capped for that degree.
It’s not their fault. That is how life is: some things are easier than others just like some things are cheaper than others.
If you fail that degree then your COSC results must be reviewed with a view to making you rewrite those high school exams.
The credibility of your COSC has to be rechecked because it’s almost inconceivable that one could scrap through high school and then fail that degree.
| I |
magine Scrutator’s horror then when news broke last week that one of the students who was capped last month for the same degree had conned her way through the university.
Phew! Oh my God!
That is what Scrutator said when she heard of the latest stink from the NUL.
Why would one cheat her way to a degree that the university likes to hand out like confetti at a wedding?
The answer to that question is that she cheated because she could.
But beyond that, we can also speculate that she cheated because she saw how easily others were cheating their way to degrees.
This business of cheating at NUL is neither new nor shocking.
What is new is that someone has been caught in the act, nicking a degree.
We have always known that people steal degrees from NUL but we have never heard of anyone being caught and exposed.
This newly found vim to catch degree thieves is a new phenomenon at NUL.
So too is the information that the university is seriously concerned about this age old practice.
Since when has NUL bothered about the credibility of the graduates it produces?
For years its role has been to churn out what it could to the market.
Whether its degrees were dubious or shallow was always someone else’s problem to worry about.
What is shocking is that some people are actually shocked that degrees are being stolen at NUL.
Such people are feigning ignorance.
Scrutator can bet her last coin that anyone who has graduated from NUL in recent years knows someone in their stream whose journey to a degree is questionable.
This is the reality.
| B |
ut seriously, Scrutator just does not understand what this brouhaha about this suspected cheat is all about.
That most graduates from NUL are frauds is as clear as the fact that the long list of the so-called achievements the coalition government was crowing about last week are just hot air.
Read my lips: most NUL graduates cheated their way to their degrees.
But before you start fuming with anger allow Scrutator to clearly explain what she means here.
You see, the word ‘cheat’ here is not being used to mean getting a degree through bribery, plagiarism, copying or tinkering with the examination mark. No.
The point I am making is that most NUL students have degrees they don’t really deserve.
Yes they have been classified as having passed but their mental capacity is still at the same level as that of COSC students (drink some water if you are angry).
They are still wanting in their core competences.
There is glaring incongruence between what is written on their degree certificates and what they have in their heads.
They have earned the right to masquerade as bonafide graduates simply because they have a piece of paper to show as proof.
But their heads are still as light as they were before they entered NUL.
We can deny all we want but the fact remains that there is something terribly wrong with the graduates that NUL has been producing in recent years.
Something is just suspicious about them.
Talk to the people in the industry and they will tell you the same thing.
They will tell you that they have to put diapers on some of these so-called graduates.
They will tell you that many of them cannot even spell their names under pressure.
They tell you that when they get some of these graduates in their companies they have to start teaching them basics from scratch.
Senior lawyers will tell you that when they get law graduates in their firms they have to unteach and then re-teach them.
In most cases they have to redo the bulk of the work done by these graduates.
| S |
crutator has and is sure many have interacted with NUL graduates whose reasoning capacity is way lower that of junior certificate drop-outs. With every word they have uttered Scrutator has become more convinced that they learnt absolutely nothing during their years at the university.
Some individuals have been so dismal that Scrutator has been tempted to believe that they were actually messed up by the university.
It’s as if they were fine until they got their heads twisted at vasity.
It’s as if instead of educating them NUL actually turned them into retards.
Their shallowness is appalling.
Sadly, such people are always quick to peddle the college’s name.
They are incapable of finishing a conversation without saying: “When we were at NUL” or “In our days at NUL”.
They brandish the “graduate title” as if their lives depend on it.
It’s a routine they religiously follow for they know that the past glory of the university helps them hide the fact that they are actually dunderheads.
They think dropping the college’s name in every conversation will detract you from the reality that they have remained empty-heads even after spending time at NUL.
| A |
long time ago NUL graduates did not need introduction. They would walk into an institution, take a few days to learn the systems and then start doing things better than those who had been there for years.
You would give them an assignment and they would do it not only faster but better.
You could only marvel at their innovation and new ideas of doing things.
NUL graduates brought special skills to the table and they added value.
You would teach them how things are done and they would teach you how they are done better.
They were assets to institutions that employed them. They inspired their uneducated colleagues to go back to school.
Now, years later, NUL graduates still don’t need introduction but they shine in a different way.
They are outstanding in their indolence.
They walk into an institution and take years to master simple things.
Their knowledge is way behind modern trends. In 2012 they are still talking about how things were done in the 1970s.
Most of them look uninterested in their jobs.
Better salaries are what they talk about.
They are obsessed with Facebook and other social networks.
And they ratchet up the phone bill as if it’s their first time in their lives to see a phone.
When the clock strikes 4:30 pm, they are the first ones to pack their bags and head for the bus stop.
Scrutator suspects that most NUL graduates of recent years actually set their watches time 20 minutes ahead.
That way they arrive at work 20 minutes late and leave 20 minutes earlier.
Instead of uplifting the teams in which they work they drag them down.
They no longer inspire the uneducated to go back to school. This is sad but true.
| E |
qually sad is the fact that even when standards have gone south NUL remains adamant in its bad ways.
Its students are still as puffed-up as ever.
The mediocrity that we all see does not seem bad enough to jerk the national university from its deep slumber.
“Who are you?” is the question that NUL always ask anyone who points out the college’s weaknesses.
Times have changed but NUL hasn’t. The incessant crises and scandals at the state-funded university haven’t taught them humility and self introspection.
Instead of embracing criticism NUL remains in defensive mode.
Yet this should not be the case because there is nothing left to defend.
The university is in ruins and it must start rebuilding.
| L |
astly Scrutator would like to caution the so-called legal fundis who have been shouting their voices hoarse, complaining about the newspaper’s decision to name the student who is alleged to have cheated her way to a degree.
While Scrutator is nowhere near Gamaliel, the best law teacher in Jerusalem, her basic knowledge of the law tells her no law was broken.
Remember that days before the graduation the same student had taken the university to court, seeking an order to force it to allow her to graduate.
In that application the student stated her name as the plaintiff.
Court papers are generally considered to be public documents.
By filing those court papers the students actually “outted” herself.
She got her degree after a court order which is a public document.
She is not a minor because minors don’t sue to get degrees. She is not a victim of a hideous crime.
By the way, there is nothing secretive about university degrees.
If you want to check if your boss indeed attained that MBA he likes to flaunt so much you can just call their university.
Qualifications are public matters. That is why some people even put them on their business cards (silly thing that).
So whether you like it or not those who are suspected of having short-circuited their way to degrees will be named especially when their names are contained in official court papers and university documents.
If you don’t like reading their names then just skip them in the story or better still just start your own newspaper.
Ache!
scrutator29@gmail.com
Comment by Lepaketla on 15 November 2012:
Che he o bitter bareng o Scru!
Comment by moji on 15 November 2012:
Hele wa emella ho soma batho , ma nul a matle ele hore rea hampe hakalo
Comment by Academic on 15 November 2012:
I allways find it funny how people who never got the chance to go to NUL seem to HATE the university.
LIMKOS and LEROTHOLI students are being tought by NUL students holding degrees so even if the quality of education has declined the fact it is still the BEST university in the country!
Comment by zozoma on 15 November 2012:
Ebe u no kena efe uena University???? U so bitter Bitch or Nigga ea Lenkwesta! Leba haeno u tlohe Lso mona ngoan’antja! U batla Stlofa ha u le tjena!
Comment by Tichere-ea-Sesotho on 15 November 2012:
While there may be an iota of truth in what you are saying, probably because the faculty of education at NUL doesn’t do much to upgrade its courses, this disingenuous oversimplification and overgeneralization cannot go unchallenged. You make an innuendo that students who pursue B.Ed at NUL aren’t good cognitively, and this is untrue because they still go through the same screening and selection process before they can be admitted into the bachelor’s programmes. Additionally, the majority of students who come directly from high school into the B.Ed programme are still required to have at least a second class pass with a credit in English to be admitted. Of course, nowadays because of many academic routes students follow after Form E before going to NUL, you do get weak students enrolled in B.Ed and other programmes.
It is also a fact all over the world, including Zimbabwe that, the smartest students usually pursue the science-based courses and, to a much lesser degree, in the social sciences, particularly in courses requiring good mathematics like economics and accounting, but there are still many good students enrolled in B.Ed. As a matter of fact, selectivity in other countries is quite high for students who want to pursue teaching as a career because of the importance they attach to teaching.
To a large extent, you could be right about your assessment of, and reservations about, the quality of NUL courses and the quality of its graduates, but this sweeping statement and proclivity to constantly cast aspersions on NUL is ill-informed. Admittedly, NUL has some challenges that are well known, but it still produces some of the finest graduates, many of whom are naturally gifted students. Of course, NUL is not research-intensive and many of its lecturers are probably not well grounded in research like lecturers in other universities, but it still has some of the talented lecturers. Having said that, I think NUL has to do a lot to increase its research output and profile.
Please, give yourself time to look at the academic staff in South African universities in all disciplines, including hard core sciences and engineering, and you’ll be shell-shocked to find that some of the lecturers studied at NUL. Even in South African universities, you still find here and there, some top students in the sciences/engineering who studied at NUL, with some who transferred after first year of BSc. You can also google to find out who is a B-rated black woman researcher in chemistry in South Africa, and you will find the answer for yourself. Yes, Basotho are not articulate in English like Zimbabweans, South Africans and citizens of other countries in the region, but there are still some pockets of excellence, and they are as talented as the citizens of other countries in the region given the right exposure and environment.
Finally, you yourself, Scrutator, you would probably be an esteemed scholar, a prolific writer in your field, a top scientist, an engineer, or a leading economist if you were academically gifted. Si sokola sonke (We are all struggling)! We are all in the process of continuously trying to improve ourselves. Well, I’m not trying to shoot you down my friend, but I’m just making a point that your reporting should be balanced and show all sides of the story.
Comment by Ribolla on 15 November 2012:
He wa nqhaaza Tichere ea sesotho, empa ke le hole ne ke tla o tswara ka letsoho, “Finally, you yourself, Scrutator, you would probably be an esteemed scholar, a prolific writer in your field, a top scientist, an engineer, or a leading economist if you were academically gifted. Si sokola sonke (We are all struggling)!”
ARABA SCRU
Comment by Lobengula on 15 November 2012:
Ache Tichere ea Sesotho; o Tichere e le ka ‘nete. A well articulated and informative input, and your level headedness without resorting to insults and vulgarity needs to be applauted. I had good teachers at high school who were all NUL graduates; so I really do not understand how Scru came to a conclusion that NUL B.Ed degree is the simplest on the planet. My observation is based on my experience in the workplace and this does not apply to NUL graduates only is that some graduates “switch off” once they get into the workplace thinking that their degrees will be a key to a better position at the work place without hard work and uplifting themselves. This results in people who do not want to learn anything new or learn from the people who are already on the job with a better experience. Tichere ea Sesotho also raises a very important issue of being articulate in English. Lesotho has only one language other than English and thus, we hardly use English in our everyday interactions. Zimbabwe, South Africa and other African countries are multi lungual and thus, are forced to use English as a medium of communication. While it is important that graduates write and spell the language of business be either English or any other language, it again boils down to the issue of identifying ones short comings and improving. An engineer or any other science related graduate then has a chance of taking on the short courses in business English and other soft courses to improve themselves. Basotho are generally hard working people, mostly the “un educated”, and once graduates take the mentality of hard work into everything they do, coupled with their education they can take tremendously take the fatherland far and if the country improves, the people prosper. Khotso , Pula, Nala.
Comment by Mvethu on 15 November 2012:
hahahahahaha ………, he Scru ua e bua ‘nete!
Comment by Tsehla on 15 November 2012:
I think sometimes we don’t have to be vulgar or sarcastic. But what I can sense from what scrutator has written here is sarcastic. In addition, I can observe that scrutator is not an academician, in short he or she has no university education. This is revealed by the fact that he/she cannot differentiate between a course, a programme and a discipline. I can therefore advise scrutator to research before he/she embark on this kind of debates because we tend to question his/her academic knowledge or thinking capability.
I think this is not a correct way of engaging people into some debate while you do not have knowledge of what you are writing about or proposing. Just try to get your facts correct and write and also do some bit of research and do not rely on the hear-say or imagination. I can therefore advise you to enrol in education at NUL very soon and then later come back and write this uninformed stories.
Comment by Thabiso on 15 November 2012:
I really like to read your critical criticisms week after week, Scru, keep it up! In general people don’t take criticism well and in particular Basotho are a complacent nation which primarily stems from our upbringing where we are highly discouraged to question anything whether it be customs, traditions, the elders, authority, etc. In general, having been at NUL for over 20years I really do agree with you that we are on a downward trend. In most universities programmes are reviewed on regular basis to: meet the prevailing demands; meet the requirements of accrediting bodies; improve effectiveness & relevance hence compete with other universities nationally and globally, etc. I guess the fact that we have had one university has somehow ingrained in us that it has to be the best regardless of the courses it teaches, the quality of staff and its research output! Now, for a society that: doesn’t read including lecturers (ba qetile sekolong!) except for schooling purposes (this is about the only country in the world with no bookshops except for stationery shops dishing out elementary school textbooks); doesn’t encourage kids to question (ke bana ba e ntse joang ba botsang batho ba baholo lipotso); etc, how exactly do we expect to produce people who can critically inquire (i.e. do research) and/or expect them to aggressively push productivity in the work place? Yes, they will move from toi-toing for NMDS money to toi-toing for salaries. How we all wish the same enthusiasm and energy could be used productively to produce credible research and entrepreneurs.
Comment by Tsehla on 15 November 2012:
Some people are talking about criticism here. It is good to criticise something if you have an empirical evidence and concrete information but not relying on speculations. The main problem with scrutator is that, he/she embarks on sarcasm rather than criticism. He/she over-generalises and that is considered shallow thinking capacity. For instance, one foreigner (woman) was raped two years back at Pioneer Mall by one Mosotho man. Therefore, is it in order for foreigners to say that all Basotho men rape.
Comment by takatso on 15 November 2012:
ke lebohile Tsehla.
Comment by livoski on 15 November 2012:
Whereas what Scrutator says about the increasingly low standards of NUL graduates is largely true, she must acknowledge that NUL has to admit poorly educated entrants. The whole education system in Lesotho has collapsed, and NUL cannot be held entirely responsible. Garbage in; garbage out!
Comment by PING PONG on 15 November 2012:
Scrutator ngoanaka, i have been in the civil service for about 26 years. I have worked with very few people from NUL, the rest have been and are from other colleges and universities. the behavior that you claim to observe from the NUL graduates is what i observe from the youth now regardless of which university they come from. i agree with Lobengula on his/her observation that “some graduates “switch off” once they get into the workplace thinking that their degrees will be a key to a better position at the work place without hard work and uplifting themselves”. But i can even go beyond what Lobengula observed that there are some engineers who cannot even use a measuring tape but they are holding a degree in engineering and NUL has no faculty of engineering. if you judge how educated one is, by how he speaks english, you are still primitive man/woman. you are too much oversimplifying and overgeneralising. tlohella lehloeo lena leo o nang le lona ho NUL a ko be constructive hle.
Comment by Khomi on 15 November 2012:
@Ping Pong, Scrutator never said anyhing about English. If you attack a point that one has not made in an argument you are the one who is primitive. Nowhere does this article talk about English as a language. The article is not about profecience in english. It is about work ethic, substantial capacity and standards of graduates at NUL.
Dont get too pissed because i suspect Scru just having a good laugh. Its not an academic piece. Just laugh and get on with you life. hahahahahaha.
The little criticism in the article is actually very constructive.
Comment by Tsehla on 15 November 2012:
@Khomim there is no criticism in this column, but sarcasm. Srutator is sarcastic and primitive as Ping Pong is saying. He/she is not in a position to be analytic and his/her judgements are too narrow and based on speculations and false information. This person is misleading people. He/she doesn’t even know that a course is not even equivalent to a programme. Education is not a course but a programme. He/she should not write about something is not conversant with.
Comment by Khomi on 15 November 2012:
@Tsehla, what is your point apart from splitting hairs? What false information is in the article? Where is the specualtion?
Is it your first time to hear Scrutator being sarcastic?
Its sarcacism and you must not be overlly offended by a sataric columnist doing what she has always done.
In any case, do you deny that NUL needs to change and improve?
What is misleading about saying standards have gone down at NUL.
Even NUL itself accepts that.
Comment by Mokoena on 15 November 2012:
oa nyela joale uena Scru..nxaaa oa tela..tsa mo etsa o tlo bone ha e o rotela B ED..
Comment by Tsehla on 15 November 2012:
@Khomi, I think you are the same person writing this column. Just read the first lines of this column and you will find sarcasm in them. I am not here to analyse what she wrote as you are referring to scrutator as she. But for your benefit and her, first, education is not a course but a programme, second, education is not an easy programme as he is speculating. What concrete information does she have to authenticate that education is an easy programme if she is not speculating and relying on false information obtained from hear-says, third, it is also uninformed allegations to say that in order to pass education students must not work hard, and this is sarcastic. Finally, education as a programme encompasses different courses in it from different disciplines, therefore it is a shallow opinion to say that students pass education as if is made up of a single course.
That is why I am saying she should embark on research not speculations.
Comment by Mvethu on 15 November 2012:
@Mokoena. with this language i wouldn’t be surprised hore u morutoana oa NUL. your language is disgusting.
Comment by Batho on 15 November 2012:
In as much as I agree that the standards are low at NUL, I disagree with the submision that one has to work hard to fail education. Imagine someone doing Mathematics and Physics education, in as much as that major’s demands are not exactly as the general degree in Maths and Physics in higher levels, they do the same things in first,second and third year at NUL.
So talking about education as easy to pass is incorrect and misleading. You have to be specific about which major is easy to pass in education not just “education is easy to pass”
Comment by Tsehla on 15 November 2012:
@Batho, you are very correct. The scrutator is speculating as I told @Khomi. Did scrutator engage in a research and results show that students in education have to work hard in order to fail, and others do not have to work hard in order to pass it?? These are sarcastic and contradictory statements. She must cite a source to support her arguments, failing which this are just mere allegations that are not meant to improve but discourage people from doing the same programme she is attacking.
Comment by Luks on 15 November 2012:
I read all the comments, all the suggestions, the analysis and please take it easy on scru, I mean just go back and read all the comments yourself. What do you see? What I see are poorly constructed sentences from people who claim to hold degrees, I search for meaning in almost all of these comments posted (No logic). I am glad I never showed-up when I was accepted at NUL.
Comment by Bobete on 15 November 2012:
This phenomenon Scru is talking about cannot be restricted to NUL graduates only, this some kind of a chronic disease that is pulling down a lot of institutions of higher learning. It is a fact which we cannot deny that our graduates struggle a lot when they are new at work, they fail to apply even the basic principles of their profession. They take far too long to adapt to the business processes of their employer.
“ENGLISH”-this is a problem area from high school and naturally we expect graduates from a university to have improved but really it is disapointing how badly they communicate in this 2nd language whether written or spoken. Most people like to use “heavy” English words as an indication that they know better but I believe that is wrong.
Finally, it is also true that in the early stages of employment our fellow graduates are already pestering management about promotions, and more often than not their contribution in the organisation is not proportionate with thier demands. Whilst Scru always likes to potray this tough woman character I think this this is food for thought for all stakeholders in our education system and lets go and digest it.
Comment by Matlopotlopo on 15 November 2012:
Ache he scrutator o kena ho rona joale, ke taba ea hore re mo etsise Asemie a khutlele habo Zim!!
Comment by Tsehla on 15 November 2012:
@Luks, I think it’s scrutator’s arguments that are lacking logic. She is mixing issues in her column. She talks about education students passing without reading and reading hard to get a fail, at the same time is jumping to all NUL students at work place. That’s her story that is lacking logic, and this shows that she has not done an assignment that must have an introduction, body and conclusion.
Comment by Batho on 15 November 2012:
Here we go again! @luks, no one claimed to have NUL degree in all the comments and your assumption that anyone who critizises scru or has a terrible English sentence construction is an NUL graduate is incorrect and naive.
Comment by Tlali Palmer on 15 November 2012:
i must second the analist who said it is always a problem for people had never had a good grade to join Nul society to critizise as if they know any about going to university, because if they knew the functions and meaning of university , really they would not have emburase themself here.We have seven faculties in this college and to my knowledge all of them are of paramount thus why even MNDS grants out its money to students enrolling at NUL.Mr Scrunator where did u study?u you are sounding like none Academician man……….
Comment by 3rd Eye on 15 November 2012:
Oena Scru, you should work on your COSC/diploma so that you too may be admitted at Nul. I’d recommend you take Logic & Scientific Methods as a course (not a programme) for your first yr, then you may quit and get back to your writing of columns. You could learn that “most NUL graduates cheated their way to the degrees” can’t be a conclusion when it’s not supported by its premises. I doubt both your intelligence and your college certificate. How do you think you can assess the quality of a University degree when you don’t have one? In this regard i discourage you to do any research on NUL’s education quality. Try issues like alcohol abuse, drugs and others. I admit Nul’s standard has gone down, but it remains the best institution in Lesotho. Other institutions like Fokothi follow while Limko is the least.
Comment by Rosa on 15 November 2012:
@3rd Eye “I admit Nul’s standard has gone down, but it remains the best institution in Lesotho.”
“Best” compared to which other university in this country.
As a university NUl is competing against itself in the country.
Its number one out of one.
Don’t fool yourself. If things are bad at NUL they are just bad.
Comparing it to mediocre institution in the country just wont cut.
Comment by Abuti on 15 November 2012:
You mix some facts with a whole lot of BS !!! O khathatsa matla ruru, motho ha a tsebe hore na a ka reng.
Scru, you do have some potential to make it in journalism, but you will have to up your game quite considerably before we can start taking you seriously. An article that is 30 % fact and 70 % bullcrap is just not good enough !!!!
Comment by Sanko on 16 November 2012:
Let me be the first to totally agree with scrutator. I am a poorly educated geologist that did its first science degree at NUL. If it were not of NUL, and its mediocre academic performance, scru, your guess is as good as mine, i would have been a highly-educated writer with one little newspaper in Zimbabwe.
Comment by Thekiso on 16 November 2012:
Srutator, u ipitsanng…
Che ngoana’me ha u bona ha u ntse u ngola taba tse seneng nnete kapa sona stem tje, ke ho bontsha hore u are unprofessional, thats why u kenang le taba tse sa u tlamang…
U tla lula u otlehile, haele matichere ona a ntse a khola chelete e nkang hantle..
Poor you
Comment by Bobete on 16 November 2012:
NUL was once the best and we have to restore that credibility. We cannot limit it to being the best in Lesotho only but should marshal our efforts to make it to be competitive regionally and internationally if possible.
Comment by kamz on 16 November 2012:
This incident is a very shameful one.People who are involved in such acts should be ashamed of themselves. I want advice the current NUL students that they refrain from such acts. You can “cheat” through academic life but you cannot cheat in real life. when you get a job out there, you will not last long before your employer sees through you and fire you.
Comment by shh on 16 November 2012:
HAHAHAHAHA, NNETE EA HLABA
Comment by Seoli on 16 November 2012:
” Scrutator has and is sure many have interacted with NUL graduates whose reasoning capacity is way lower than that of junior certificate drop-outs”
….That MAY BE true, but are those your NUL pals representative of NUL?
“Talk to the people in the industry and they will tell you the same thing.”
….Which people in which industry?
“Their shallowness is appalling”
….Interesting! Tell me, who is never shallow to you?
“You could only marvel at their innovation and new ideas of doing things”
…..First time I notice a positive thing coming out of your mouth, that is, if you talk about non-existent imaginary souls. If such people existed, then, where are their innovations and new ways of doing things?
““Who are you?” is the question that NUL always ask anyone who points out the college’s weaknesses.”
….Indeed, “who are you?” by the way?
“Times have changed but NUL hasn’t.”
“Times have changed but Scrutator hasn’t.” Otherwise how do you explain devoting a whole column to insulting one institution, week by week? Are you devoid of ideas to write about?
Words of wisdom: Pay not attention to what critics say. There has never been set up a statue in honor of a critic”…..Sibelius
Comment by Lerato on 16 November 2012:
I think the issue of language to me may not be that much of an issue! WHY? because there are plenty of countries who uses their home languages in all aspects of communication and excel. China is one country which is doing well without English. therefore to me I think while I agree with Scru, NUL ke batho ba sa rateng phetoho ho hang! I don’t understand why you’ve management and lectures who holds Phds from around the world and you do not change curriculum at all. Common sense must have told them year after year ha ba ntse ba kena li websiteng tsa kolo tse ling ba fumana subject le li course li changile hore hona le phoso ka sekolo sa bona. i’d not really put blame on learners/ graduate as we all go to schools not knowing what is outdated and what is not! They did their best on what was offered to them by most qualified lecturers. I’d therefore want to say to Tichere, Yes we’ve people doing well in other universities who studied NUL, but they did their masters and Phds in other universities.But those who came to NUL are not performing like their counterparts because of the problems at NUL. With the little experience that have with NUL and research,some lecturers are not in a good space to conduct research because of the problems prevailing at NUL. We’ve given them ample opportunities on research funds but instability has caused them to have less interest..unfortunately. Until such time NUL graduates are give up- to date curriculum like other universities, lets give them benefit of the doubt!
I don’t know whether some of us don’t understand long graduation ceremony because have attended universities where we graduated by faculties. I know, from my uncle who teaches at NUL that, NUL management is so against cutting that long graduation ceremony because “its what makes NUL”… Now how do you expect change in other critical areas while people are not creative enough to make graduation shorter and enjoyable for everyone???
Comment by Maputsoe on 16 November 2012:
The education standard at NUL is very low and the corruption state seems to be very high at the moment. It USED to be a good University but not anymore. se keng la ithetsang hleng la nna la re Scru o bitter hobane ha a ea kena NUL. Rona ba keneng NUL lilemong tsa khale ka nnete ha re monate ke boemo ba University eno mehleng ena. Ke thaba ha ke bona Shiverts a ntse a iteka ho hlaola bohlasoa!
Comment by monatala on 16 November 2012:
@ academic, how dare can you claim that “NUL is still the BEST University in the country”?
is there any other institution in the country that is at varsity level other than NUL? what qualifies an institution to be a University?
please inspire me so that I wud too be an academic like you are. plz talk sense
Comment by Batho on 16 November 2012:
The NUL situation is bad, we agree and it needs urgent rectification. We do not denounce critisism of NUL by this columnist, we denounce the lies she is telling and it is disgusting!
You are being petty and narrow to believe that anyone who disagrees with the lies scru is telling or anyone whose English sentence construction is poor is NUL graduate.
We hate the lies not critisism !
Comment by lekaota on 16 November 2012:
Scu sena ke sa ho kae hantle?se nyefola ntho e ngoe le ngoe ka hara naha ka mona,ke nale pelaelo hore hase mosotho.
Comment by O'Riley on 16 November 2012:
Dear Screw de better or Scrutinator or what ever you callin yourself
Have u ever been to NUL yourself ?,Students working sleepless nights with late funds nd distorted diets.They honestly desrve to be capped. I don’t care what u think bu the type of sterio-type u tryin to set on readers mentalities. Ha hona motho a tsoang hantle ka NUL a ka a buang ma60 ana ontso a bua… DAMN HATER !!!
Comment by O'Riley on 16 November 2012:
Dear Screw de better or Scrutinator or what ever you callin yourself
Have u ever been to NUL yourself ?,Students working sleepless nights with late funds nd distorted diets.They honestly desrve to be capped. I don’t care what u think but the type of sterio-type u tryin to set on readers mentalities. Ha hona motho a tsoang hantle ka NUL a ka a buang ma60 ana ontso a bua… DAMN HATER !!!
Comment by PING PONG on 16 November 2012:
Never argue with a fool because people might not notice the difference. stereo-typical scrutator
Comment by Kheola on 16 November 2012:
NUL has gradually degenerated into being the national university of clowns and drunkards. Too much abuse of wine and alcohol yet at the end of the year your hear “3 thousand graduate at nul”. You then ask: aren’t the 3000 the very drunkards who drink day in day out across the gate or maybe the goal posts have changed? Nowhere in the world you can have a varsity of drunkards. At NUL actually you must be extremely stupid not to pass because the lecture notes literally stay the same for a decade. Even the question papers are just a carbon copy of each other from one year to the other. Yours is just to get drunk and then recite the so called lecture notes then graduate.
Comment by mochini-boy on 16 November 2012:
Mona hee Scru o itlotlollotse. Big mouth without content. He who knows not and knows not is a full. Scru is an idiot.
Comment by mochini-boy on 16 November 2012:
Mona hee Scru o itlotlollotse. Big mouth without content. He who knows not and knows not that he knows not is a full. Scru is an idiot.
Comment by A Bcomm 2nd yr Student @ NUL on 16 November 2012:
Scru u bua haholo…le wena ha u tla sebetsa koranteng mona u fihlile ka mokunyata..re tlohele re kene skolo re fumane degree re ee msebetsing…ha ho na mo2 a ka reng u fumane mangolo ka botle…ha u lenyeloi…ke sho wena u le fumane u sa tsebe le ho referenca ha u ngotse assignment.sis u bua haholo ke u joetse
Comment by stone wa nmaghuzu on 16 November 2012:
some words are so unfortunate you know,criticism,hatred and not just hatred but even insulting those who pursued their career in the bachelor of education some ages ago,great people who even made “HIM” but today he is dare to thank them with harassing and disgraceful words. who are you scrutator? you say that in the faculty of education students do not fail maybe in your days it was not happening, things are dynamic papa, its high time you get to your wits.what a shame! what did you do when you were @ university level? i really wonder. cast your own words and feel ashamed of your damn provoking words, instead of building you ruin even the left pieces, that is why i wonder if your a real citizen of this kingdom.anyway i thank Lesotho times for that chance they handed over to you, your really confusing us, we are students who are in the process of learning but all the time you are there to let us down. really concerned
Comment by KT on 16 November 2012:
Its true that NUL standard of education is way too low but who are resposible for review of programmes? Mgt and lecturers are responsible. I’m attending at NUL. The time I have spent here we have been requesting review on courses but to no avail. We have been requesting that courses in BCom Accounting program should be reviewed. There are no accounting computer packages such as pastel accounting etc. Taxation and auditing and investigations are done at 4th yr as year courses. We do too much of economics and statistics courses at 1st yr and 2nd yr while at least in 2nd yr we should be starting to do strictly accounting and finance courses. We do remedial grammar (which is done in form C) when we should be doing Business Communications. At the end of the day we want to be accountants. Unless the mgt and lecturers do something, we shall be in the dark.
Comment by Mantso on 16 November 2012:
KT accountants are only produced at CAS please joint them now and avoit wasting time with remedial grammar.
Comment by nana on 16 November 2012:
thank u scru!!! I APPRICIATE
Comment by liza on 16 November 2012:
ntho eo ke etsebang ke hore ha u so roale seeta ha u tsebe monate oa sona empa ha u kile oa bona botle kapa bobe ba seeta seo u tla lula o khotsa either botle kapa bobe ba seeta seo….hape re ntse re hopola hore bobe bo tla khotseha le hona ho bueea ho batho ba bangata ho feta botle,,,,YES U KA BUA KA BOBE BA MAGRDUATE A NUL BUT NA OA TSEBA BOTLE BA BONA?NTHO TSE NEGATIVE WONT GET US ANYWYHERE INSTEAD WE WILL BE STUCK IN OUR MISERY OF………….BITTERNESS…..HEE U BITTER HLE AUSI,,,,,,KEA IPOTSA NA EBE U LE GRADUATE LA ENG IF YOU ARE?!!
Comment by Koatake on 16 November 2012:
Ahahahahah! SCRUTATOR a ipitsetsa likakata, ngoana batho a kakateloa le ke ba ikenetseng sekolo sa papa feela. SCRUTATOR, uena le bo mphato’au ha le sa ngola litaba joale. Nna le ba mpotileng, Koranta re e balla ho tseba litaba e seng maikutlo a lona baqolotsi. Ke nnete maikutlo a lona a matlafetse ho feta a baji ba kh’okh’omala, feela ha ho bolele hore re thabela ho a foqoa nako le nako. Ausi Sekurutheitha, le ha ho se bonolo hle, qolotsang litaba ka matla, le re ngolle litaba e seng maikutlo a lona. Ka kopo,e se ka tello kapa nyeliso, re ngolleng litaba re tsebe ho bona hore lona le butsoitse ho feta ba bekuoeng NUL.
Comment by mju on 17 November 2012:
What is she suggesting? That the Faculty of Education be dealt away with, because it is offering useless courses. I decline to waste my time to educate people who are happy to remain in their state of ignorance, like Scrutator.
Comment by Lekhoakhoa on 17 November 2012:
Everytime I read this paper,someone is writing criticizing NUL. I wish they could go and find real news, surely there must be more news to report. Most of us worked hard at NUL and did not pay for grades. Our children still have to go to University, please do not discourage them by this kind of publicity. I wish there was another paper that I can read instead of this paper which is proving to be so anti every thing that is Lesotho.
Comment by Tichere-ea-Sesotho on 17 November 2012:
Wise words to ponder: BECAUSE I TEACH I CAN TOUCH TOMORROW. As Henry Adam famously said: “A TEACHER AFFECTS ETERNITY; HE CAN NEVER TELL WHERE HIS INFLUENCE STOPS”. ndi bala ntoni na?
Comment by Lekhoakhoa on 17 November 2012:
Ao Tichere-ea-Sesotho thoriso li o mathetse hlohong na joale, ha u se u ngola ka maleme a mangata tje molato keng?
Comment by Tichere-ea-Sesotho on 17 November 2012:
@ Lekhoakhoa
I may try to be modest, but I know one or two things that I can share with others so we can all expand the horizons of our knowledge. I contribute to the debate not to earn accolades from anybody. I’m content with being a teacher because I touch many lives. I was trying to bring these words of wisdom to boost the morale of teachers and student teachers who may feel dejected and worthless because of being told that theirs is an easy (cheap) degree. I was trying to communicate that their work has everlasting impact on future generations and the development of the country. I am sorry if I sounded proud. That’s not me. But if I had written in Sesotho, you wouldn’t have bothered. But because I use a language which is strange to you and you have perceptions about it, you make an unfair conclusion about me. I don’t take your criticism badly at all because I am a teacher, and mine is to teach and bring new perspectives in life. Do you know that isiXhosa is a second most dominant indigenous language in Lesotho, followed by Sephuthi? Do you know some members of these minority groups struggle to speak Sesotho? isiXhosa is my language, and I am entitled to speak my language without any fear. You should celebrate cultural diversity and learn the languages of other people. Nelson Mandela once said, “IF YOU TALK TO A MAN IN A LANGUAGE HE UNDERSTANDS, THAT GOES TO HIS HEAD. IF YOU TALK TO HIM IN HIS LANGUAGE, THAT GOES TO HIS HEART.” These words simply go to my heart. I am sorry I didn’t mean to boast, it is my tongue. NDI BALA NTONI NA?
Comment by Partriotic NUL Graduate on 17 November 2012:
This ‘journalist’ is so ignorant, so petty. You simply lack substance, and goes on to degrade the Lesotho Times.
As of know, we know it’s journalists are very low, as reflected by its petty articles. In sound media houses, space is very expensive and very granted to someone to write things as low as this Award-seeking columnist does.
JUST CHECK YOU ARENT DIGGING YOUR OWN GRAVE. Your aggression suggests something!
Comment by Partriotic NUL Graduate on 17 November 2012:
Corrections: “As of now”… “never granted”…
Comment by Maputsoe on 17 November 2012:
@Partriotic NUL Graduate – you cannot hide from the truth. Now you all feeling miserable just because Scru called spade a spade? Ako tloheng mona NUL eona e bolile!
Comment by linyebe on 17 November 2012:
Scru da gud points u hv a insultd by ya green lips.BEd aint easy at al ua hlanya ngoanana ebe PAPS,PASTORAL n SOC li kae?u mas b PAPS product
Comment by Tell the truth on 17 November 2012:
Ke hore motho a tiimeng Scru monyetla oa ho ba karolo ea NUL o re lekile hoo!
By the way wena reject ea NUL there’s no easy progamm BUT its all about adaptation, discpline and 1′s intelligence. Being negative and having nothing good to say is nt developing u or any1. Ako tlohele bo bitterness n start thinking constructively.
Lesotho Times is really getting boring, all the time “NUL NUL NUL” akha votsek publiceye is the best.
Comment by Tell the truth on 17 November 2012:
Ke hore motho a tiimeng Scru monyetla oa ho ba karolo ea NUL o re lekile hoo!
By the way wena reject ea NUL there’s no easy progamm BUT its all about adaptation, discpline and 1′s intelligence. Being negative and having nothing good to say is nt developing u or any1. Ako tlohele bo bitterness n start thinking constructively.
Lesotho Times is really getting boring, all the time “NUL NUL NUL” akha votsek publiceye is the best. Uena Linyehe ska tella programm tseling coz u can fail those programs u hv pointd out. Re u hlalohanye joang le ngoana eo a bitter?
Comment by Academic on 17 November 2012:
ahahahahahahaha! Scru u nahana hore lectures at NUL did education
Comment by Academic on 17 November 2012:
ahahahahahahaha! Scru u nahana hore lectures at NUL did education!
Comment by Lekhoakhoa on 18 November 2012:
Ao Tichere-ea-Sesotho se ea hana sesotho, u tla ba tichere ea sesotho joang u sa bue sesotho? Khale re lula le Bathepu ba bua sesotho. Ha u lula Lesotho o tlameha ho ithuta puo.
Comment by S'bongile on 18 November 2012:
@Tell the Truth, if Lesotho times is boring why do you read what they publish at all? ‘Na I am glad i am not a product of that secondary school you call NUL.
Comment by mymothersaid on 18 November 2012:
@Sbongile not all of us can be a product of Cambridge or Oxford university, NUL is our university and we are proud of it, as a matter of fact you should realise that the university at Roma used to be for 3 Countries Lesotho Botswana and Swaziland. I am sick to my back teeth to read people writing negatively about NUL some of them I am sure do not qualify to go to university and they are bitter. Try and read what the so called Tichere-ea-Sesotho has said most of the stuff is true. Where did the assistant governor of South African bank go to university? You will find that he went to NUL. I agree with most people who contributed here that this paper is so Negative when it comes to NUL, I wonder why. I would like to find out who the editor is. Honestly most of us read this because there is nothing else. We are trying so hard to find Lesotho news on line but we end up with contributions like this. Most of us were not as privileged as you and worked so hard to get to NUL we burnt candles all night studying. Adios
Comment by S'bongile on 18 November 2012:
@mymothersaid:
there is Sunday Times Lesotho online
there is http://www.publiceye.co.ls
You can read those too.
But now to the matter at hand; National University used to be ……., I stress that word USED to be a good university. But today, you have to admit that this university has been turned into something else. I am glad somebody has enough balls to criticize that school. People are putting pressure on Shiverts because Basotho like corruption and status quo; yes, I like the way Scru’s sitting on our heads.
Comment by Lekhoakhoa on 19 November 2012:
@Sbongile, what criteria are you using to degrade NUL from a recognized University to a School? You stress that”it used to be a good University” Every where you go in the world students will always complain about Lecturers about courses etc specially the weak ones. You find students on strike on daily basis, when do they study? Perhaps you and Scrutator can tell us where we should send our children to Uni. You say you are glad you did not go to NUL where did you go? Then we can try and see how yours is fairing!
Comment by mochini-boy on 19 November 2012:
NUL students go to other universities after their first degree. What reputation do you get from such students. I know one student who won Google Anita award in UCT this year. She is a product of NUL. How could she feature from a secondary school to a Top african university? Research and publish truth and not bitterness.
Comment by Liheshe on 19 November 2012:
Maybe Scrutator is not a good writer or she missed a few points in her story but the message is one and clear hore NUL is going down and there’s nothing to be pompous about degree tsa NUL kannete. Some of you are whining like these while you know for sure how you got your NUL degrees, many people will agree that they worked harder in high school than at NUL where they used to be laid and booze everyday but still passed…very bad culture at NUL!! I only did 1 year at NUL before I tranferred to University of Pretoria.
Comment by Tsehla on 19 November 2012:
Many of these people together with scrutator are busy arguing that NUL standard has gone down. The question is, have they ever been at NUL and see that the standard is deteriorating? Are they in a position to assess the level of university education? I think even the Council on Higher Education is going to face a tough time to assess the level of education at university level let alone the semi-illiterates like S’bongile and Scrutator who hold certificates and diplomas.
Comment by S'bongile on 19 November 2012:
@Liheshe; that’s it ngoana mme
@Lekhoakhoa; I have always wondered why people like stomping their feet and pouting whenever somebody criticizes them. Why this low self-esteem and over sensitiveness? I know as human beings, we hate being criticized but what do you do when criticism is true? NUL is run by human-beings and of course human-beings have faults. It does not mean therefore that NUL is a total failure. We Basotho must take what Scru is saying as our opportunity to consider strengthening that area of weakness instead of opting for defence strategy. One day, i hope to send my daughter there. haeba u rata nul joalokaha u cho, roll up your sleeves let’s go to work and pave way for the coming generation of NUL students.
Comment by Seoli on 19 November 2012:
@ S’bongile, its one thing to keep pointing to “low standards.” It is is another to SHOW us evidence of such low standards.
If NUL students were of such a low quality, then why do universities around the world keep taking them in? If indeed NUL graduates are rejects, then these universities would have long stopped taking them. Are you aware of any university complaining about the quality of NUL graduates? For you your information, NUL never send failures to other universities , in fact the opposite.
Don’t tell me that they perform poorly in Lesotho’s industry as it it often alleged because simply put, there is no industry in Lesotho. Got that!
Are we against criticism? Clearly not! But, again, there is a difference between criticism and obsession based on mirages and half-truths. We are all free to engage in fantasies. But to present such fantasies as truths and make them mantras is simply unacceptable!
Comment by mymothersaid on 19 November 2012:
@Sbongile You will not send your daughter there, why should you? most of us enjoyed our stint at NUL and are proud of it. For you to call it secondary school and yet we do not hear where you went to Uni is not acceptable.
Comment by S'bongile on 19 November 2012:
@Seoli, who around the world is taking NUL students? Mention those universities which accept NUL students. I think you wanted to say Universities in African world…….. and not the world at large.
Comment by lepantsola on 19 November 2012:
ke tlo le koqama ka sephali le reng?
Comment by S'bongile on 19 November 2012:
@mymothersaid; ke’a ipotsa hore na ha u tsebile u tla etsang. Ha ke batle ha u ka ‘nyefola just because Scru here called a spate a spate!
Comment by Lekhoakhoa on 20 November 2012:
@Sbongile, I think you started by saying that you are glad you are not a product of NUL, so people are wondering where you went to UNI, which is so wonderful. You have to realize you started by calling it Secondary School. I find it strange sometimes people criticize for the sake of it because Scru said it.
Comment by Tichere-ea-Sesotho on 20 November 2012:
Guys, things may not be so well at NUL at the moment, but the fact remains, it is the only premier university in the country, and as such, it is bound to have some of the brightest students and lecturers in the country. It’s just a matter of common sense. Whether the university has enough institutional capacity to create a success-oriented academic environment that adds value to students’ ability and learning, and the lecturers’ academic growth is something else. However, what I have noticed over the years is that good students will remain good students in spite of the (teacher) circumstances. In such cases, it is the individual ability which matters, and this cannot be reduced to aggregates.
I studied B.Ed at NUL and am presently working outside the country in higher education, along with several other Basotho lectures working in different disciplines in top SA universities, which are coincidentally the top in Africa. I also know some lecturers who studied at NUL working in universities overseas. Having studied at NUL, I know that many students and lecturers at NUL can outperform me, Scru and S’bongile through and through in their areas of study and expertise. A good command of English does not mean that one is intelligent, and that one can solve complicated calculus problems, for instance, and think abstractly. There is a tenuous connection between the two.
Do I mean that NUL is efficient and working optimally? NO. As a matter of fact, they should up their game and work tremendously to improve the image and profile of the university. Over the years, NUL degenerated and metamorphosed into a political force that gradually became antiestablishment to its own detriment, and ruined its own image and squandered public sympathy. They are too much embroiled into petty party politics. To be honest, in terms of professional (academic) ethics, academic citizenship and general citizenship roles, many of them are wanting, and there is definitely a need to overhaul this once-glorious institution so that every Mosotho, regardless of their political persuasions, can be proud of it. They certainly need to unlearn some of the practices and learn new ones that would make them reclaim their place in the higher education terrain that is increasingly becoming very competitive on a number of fronts including competition for students.
Comment by MISS BITTER on 20 November 2012:
uena scru,kelello ena ea hau ke ea litonki straight! u bua rubbish,u tsebang ka NUL?u r making pionts out of rubbish.u bua nosonso nd plz u ithute ho kwala molomo ono wa hau okang lefito la kobo e thokao.nna ua ntena cz le varsity u tlameha u sa e kena kapa u bitter cz u ddnt qualify 2 b 1 of NUL students?
Comment by Fabolous on 20 November 2012:
Le mo nka kae ena eo?
Comment by Seoli on 20 November 2012:
@Seoli, who around the world is taking NUL students?
This question shows me that you know nothing about NUL nor its graduates.
Comment by MISS BITTER on 20 November 2012:
@SEOLI .tanki hle jwale uena u nepile cz obviously seoli1 knws nthn,ke non-fundi dts why a botsang a stupid question lyk dt 1
Comment by MIRSS on 20 November 2012:
@ MAPUTSOE,ao nnake d u hv any idea hore na u bua ka eng ha u ikeme ure NUL e bolile? i wonder hore na uena bophelong u kile wa thola opportunity ea varsity ha ele mona utseba tse bolileng.
Comment by 2nd yr BComm student @ NUL on 20 November 2012:
hahahahahahahahaha scrutator u bua jwaloka hae ka u tswa ka serotong nxa…hantle Koranta ee etswa monka kae eena eo…ha re tlohele rona re kene “THE ONLY UNIVERSITY IN LESOTHO” ake eena ha ba le monyetla o jwalo…Fifa NUL fifa….
Comment by S'bongile on 20 November 2012:
Really now people; Scru foresaw all this. That you will apply your defensive mode where it’s not necessarily applicable.
@Seoli, ke’a e tseba NUL. Ke’a e tseba. I started at NUL (the first two years), but then decided to enrol with another university.
The only person that impresses me is Tichere-ea-Sesotho. He is trying to de-escalate this conflict and the rest of you are just defensive.
@Lekhoakhoa there are lots of things I can tell you about NUL and it’s so called quality management, koma u ka sala u e bina ka hlooho.
For now, i am glad the new chancellor does not give up even though she’s going through times of trouble, trials and tribulations.
Comment by Mohloa-thupa on 20 November 2012:
you know there is nothing like being emotional about issues, it clouds one’s vision, and visibility reduces to centimetres so one cant even see the key board when they type.
Scru has always made her point. She has, and continues to acknowlwdge that NUL was very good some time ago.The alumi et alumnae of NUL should rather stop being defensive and get to be involved in efforts to rescue that long troubled ship.
I myself have never been to NUL, and I hold the highest academic qualification. You find the alumni who are defending NUL so profusely take it so personally, but they exhibit their inadequacies blatantly, but also in fairness, bluntly.
The broohaha about subject/course/module/programme/discipline/field/sphere is very irrelevant and in fact means different things in different universities, and in various english speaking countries. A supposed second year student shouts, fifa NUL fifa. Do you see Scru’s point? I have helped many, one reference after another, for free, with their projects and God they write like my 12 year old niece!
Honestly that institution hs no relevance. A university that teaches undergraduates as its CORE business is long dead. A few questionalble Masters and this year I heard three Doctors. Come on alumni, this is wanting. Look at how prolonged and inexplicable graduation ceremonies are?
Like it or not, qualifications are questionable thereat. A paper shouts: “A thigh for marks”.a nd such stories, failed graduates prostituting the judiciary to force NUL to offer them degrees. This one was caught. Who wasnt.
Stop weeping.The B-rated scientist was there early 80s, went to Nairobi for M and D degtees respectively. In the mid 90s to date, NUL is a mess. Learn to accept that.
Comment by S'bongile on 20 November 2012:
@2nd yr BComm student @ NUL
Federation International Football Association = FIFA
I guess you wanted to say “VIVA”a word used as an exclamation of acclaim or approval Now you have really exposed yourself
Comment by Seoli on 20 November 2012:
“I myself have never been to NUL, and I hold the highest academic qualification.”
I always find it interesting that some anti-NUL folks (included an elusive character called scru) who comment here never reveal where they attended school.
“A university that teaches undergraduates as its CORE business is long dead.”
A wishful thinking indeed
“A few questionable Masters and this year I heard three Doctors.”
Questionable on what basis?
Comment by Seoli on 20 November 2012:
“you know there is nothing like being emotional about issues, it clouds one’s vision, and visibility reduces to centimetres so one cant even see the key board when they type”
That may be true. But the truest thing is that deliberately blinding oneself to any positive thing in the institution and declaring it dead on no basis is suicidal!
Comment by Seoli on 20 November 2012:
Having recognised some form of interest that LS Times has on NUL, I have suggested, many times, that should it drop meaningless weekly rantings we are often bombarded with by Scrutator. That won’t achieve anything other than degrade an otherwise a sober newspaper and invite more meaningless comments from the clueless souls amongst us.
I have suggested that the paper develops some way of objectively assessing the university. But the newspaper has turned a deaf ear to such pleas. In fact it has decided to do the opposite, bringing pseudo-analysts who make decisions on the basis of hunches, gut feelings and hearsay and who can’t differentiate between their opinions and facts.
We need independent private institutions which can assess the level of our higher education system and whether indeed there is a progress or regress over the years. This happens in many countries. You see we may argue on methodology and on whether it is fair but an existence of a methodology is better than none and scrutators worldwide are known to fill voids in the absence of such.
For instance, instead of perpetuating myths like NUL lecturers don’t research, it is better to look at factors such as citations per faculty, faculty student ratio, Academic peer review, International orientation, etc as used by major ranking institutions. Such periodical assessments, which don’t need to be expensive by the way, would not only help the institution to see how it is realistically viewed by others and where improvements are needed, it would also improve your credibility as a newspaper.
Comment by Mohloa-thupa on 20 November 2012:
It is not a case of may be true. It is a case of , read this : IT IS TRUE. There can be no equivocation about that. Now come on Seoli : WHAT IS ONE THING THAT IS POSITIVE ABOUT NUL? I have no time to be honest with you to indulge in chasing spooks. WHAT IS IT THAT THAT HIGH SCHHOL DOES WELL?
THESE DONT QUALIFY:
1.A high number of HIV POSITIVE students and staff
2.That it does not generate 1 loti in income on its own, and has to rely on subventio from govt.
3.That it has no known research output. (that some lecturers write substandard articles in Lesotho newspapers is not research, nor publication by the way)
4. Keeping a third edition book in the Library when there is a 13th edition in the Bookshops elsewhere
5. Discussing question papers for sex with students is not academic, nor ‘positive’
6. Spending 70% of the subvention on staff costs doest prove to the nation that NUL is necessary, not even as an evil, it shows an institution that simply has to be closed.
The list goes on ad nauseam
Once again, WHAT ONE THING IS POSITIVE AT THAT PLACE? FROM MID 90S TO DATE?
Boy it used to be a place in the eighties and earlier…now it is RUINS, nothing less, nothing more
Comment by Mohloa-thupa on 20 November 2012:
Hahahahaahah, sure I HAVE NEVER STUDIED AT NUL. cant pretend i did. We could discussit separately if you are interested, over a drink. Four Institutions in total. No Harvard, ICT, Yale, Oxford or LSE, but light years ahead from NUL. One of them made more than 150 Million in research last year.
Phew. The purpose on a university is not simply to teach undergraduates. If you insist on this then we cant rgue any further. It is a place of SCHOLARSHIP. You can in fact hace colleges that teach undergrads.
A ubiversity produces research, generates knowledge and produces next generations of thinkers among others. if not, then fifa NUL fifa. This is my last word.
Comment by Mohloa-thupa on 20 November 2012:
Million USD by the way
Comment by Seoli on 20 November 2012:
What a list!…..and a list of wishes (i don’t want to say lies)
Comment by Seoli on 20 November 2012:
That you didnt go to Harvard, ICT, Yale, Oxford or LSE is clear to me. You don’t didn’t have to say it. But where exactly did you study?
Comment by Seoli on 20 November 2012:
I asked this question because those guys did a poor job, at least on you!
Comment by Mohloa-thupa on 20 November 2012:
Hihihihhihi. Answer one simple question man/woman: WHAT IS ONE POSITIVE THING THEY DO AT NUL? And by the way, have you told anyone where you studied if in fact you have?
It may well be NUL. Did you go beyond that?
Ever heard of Zimbabwe, Stanford, MIT and Wharton?
This remind me. My high school was Peka High. Boy what a school it was. But honestly today its shambles. I HAVE TO ACCEPT THAT and we are trying to regroup and see what we can do about it. No hard feelings, it is pathetic. accept that too.
Comment by Seoli on 20 November 2012:
First I overlooked and thought you said you studied at Harvard, ICT, Yale, Oxford or LSE, you can imagine how horrified I was!!! But when I reread I realise you said you didn’t study there. Needless to say, I was relieved! That would be a miracle ! Now that you say you went to Zimbabwe, I feel you are getting closer to the truth (although I suspect you are stretching it a little bit by including Stanford, MIT and Wharton) :)
Comment by Seoli on 20 November 2012:
No hard feelings either my friend!!! Though I had some tough words this time, I appreciate these kinds of discussions. I have said methodology is better than Scru. But I may as well say scru is better than no scru!!!
Viva Scru!
Comment by monna thaba on 20 November 2012:
aaaache!!! comeon guys, le tsebe scrutator ekanna eaba haaa ka ba le monyetla oa ho graduata ka baka la hlooho e thata ke taba ena a pepetang bosehla, nkeke raba lingaka kaofela hape motho ona le thetho eahae, scrutator ska ipeha fatse o sontsole fatse hle monna, tholaaa!!!!!!!!
Comment by Tichere-ea-Sesotho on 20 November 2012:
Friends, let’s talk about things that we know will work. One thing is sure; NUL will not close shop anytime soon. It will forever be there because it is a national asset. What we need to be doing instead of making accusations and counteraccusations is to put our heads together on what can be done to salvage this institution from its moribund state and turn it into a thriving institution, financially and academically. Mohloa-Thupa along with others may be you could share your expertise and thoughts on what the university and the nation should do to turn NUL around. I’m sure NUL lecturers want to be counted among the best, and so is the nation which wants quality education for its children. We must grow our own timber. As I said before, given the right support and change of mindset, Basotho are intellectually capable of rising to any academic challenge be it scholarship, academic leadership or administration. My suggestion is let the government budget around M50 million or more for staff development, advanced training in research methods and writing for publication, incentives for publication, international research conferences, strategic collaborations with research-intensive institutions and eminent scholars and inviting guest lectures. These are some of the suggestions that I can put forth off the cuff. The society out there wants solutions to their problems ASAP including making NUL a centre of excellence. They are not interested to know who attended which prestigious university, and who was smarter than whom at school.
Comment by Seoli on 20 November 2012:
Tichere,
At least you are the most sober minded so I will respond accordingly. NUL staff doesn’t need to be schooled on research methods and writing for publications if that’s what you suggest. Go to NUL website and see for yourself that those fellows are well educated and have gone to the best universities in the world. What they need is research funding as you suggest. And what the government needs to do is to spend money, not on opulent SA universities, sending people there who never come back but should invest that money right here. NUL needs postgraduate studies. Anyone who has ever gone beyond first degree is familiar to the truth that even the so-called top-research professors mainly get credit from their students. They are often clueless about what their students do in the lab, yet their names always make their way into the journal publications. NUL has done a bit in introducing applied science but we need a full fledged faculty of engineering. People should learn to stop blaming NUL for the stupidity of the government, which, by the way, imported Limkwnokiwn instead of fixing NUL.
Comment by Mohloa-thupa on 20 November 2012:
Oh my God, kakakakakak. There you are again. Didnt even understand what I wrote,( you misread?) then you flew into the hailstorm. You still evade the question I asked. WHAT ONE THING IS POSITIVE AT NUL?.
Where I went to school really has nothing to do with how anyone feels or wishes or thinks. Its simply a matter of where I went to.That is it. And of course as Scru would say, all you have to do is check at those places. Wharton is a Business School where I obtained an MBA. Stanford and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) are institutions where i obtained M and D degrees respectively. If you were to know me, you could within minutes verify this.By the way my undergrad was at ZIM, the house of stone.Thats why I didnt go to NUL sir/madam.
So out of Interest,and to reciprocate now that i have told you about me, how far and where did Seoli go? Then I could actually set an appointment over lunch (my bill) to discuss why I feel this way about NUL.You probably would understand. By the way, despite political issues, in America Zimbabwean education is respected. Cant say the same about NUL
All of those who know me would actually wonder why I am arguing at this level, but please understand I am a Mosotho. You too would if you see what i studied and what I do outside lesotho, though I am home for Christmas now. It hurts to see NUL disappear into the horizon.
Zimbabwean education in my undergraduate days, was the best in the region. Amazingly it is still intact albeit problems.
Comment by Seoli on 20 November 2012:
My goodness, you are still there!
Comment by Seoli on 20 November 2012:
My goodness, you are still there! We have now switched to level headed discussions with tichere, not childish bragging about universities we know nothing about!
Comment by Seoli on 20 November 2012:
Tichere, You probably see my point about investing right here. Why spend money in Zim when we clearly get nothing in return, (except of course, puffed up fellows who boast about universities they never attended)
Comment by Mohloa-thupa on 20 November 2012:
Good peole I am logging off now. Tichere ea Sesotho, pity we are not arguing in that beautiful language (and hope the name is not to say uena u tichere ea sesotho feela, ntho tsena tse thata ha u li tsebe , ahahahaah) you actually are quite right,mature in your approach and have given a few examples of what to fix. We have some top academics and future brains.No one should ever doubt that. But make no mistake: fixing NUL is a mammoth task and requires neither pride nor defensiveness nor emotional outbursts. As a business case it is simply not viable. And you a right, about it being considered a national asset.
For me that is the greatest disaster.I understand we are tyig to work at accrditation in this country of ours. That is good. Institutions are accredited first in their country. Limkokwing is in Malaysia and the UK, and I think in Botswana too.
I think we are all willing to help. I would be an external examiner without pay to my people, but only at post graduate level….have not time for undergrads. I could supervise a few M and D if we ventured into my areas. But again as said, i alwys help a few fianl years for their projects, and often I have had issues with what people say their ‘supervisor’ wants them to do, and several of them, if they read this they would know, have had to go back to the lecturer to say someone suggests this and that… basic staff. Sure they may know something about Reseach Methodology, but i think they are plainly not interested in their work, and that is what complicates other matters as well.
In conclusion I am a Mosotho, oa mokoena oa molibeli and very proud of that.
Thanks for stirring the pot a bit, NUL is in dire need of a fix. We need more universities, and the state has to get out of NUL if it is not to be another government department…whichever government we have. By the way, I understand the new PMhas also received an honorary D from Limkokwing?
Comment by Mohloa-thupa on 20 November 2012:
Seoli, I am still here but logging off. I will leave Mid January. I still have my certificates because I earned them and dont have to prove anything, certainly not to an undergraduate who emotionally defends issues and cant read properly and claim level headed arguements when you sincerely are not able to.
Your so called point is an example because you have no clue what we contribute to Lesotho. absolutely none. Go back to school my fiend, even Wits is good then you can ‘brag’ about good universities if you wish. Imagine if you could get a Ph.D from MIT, that would honestly be nice man/woma, and no one should hate you for that? Nor would you have to hide it when asked. You asked me and I told you, but you cant say where you went. I thought NUL, but i realise St Thomas High is probably as far as you went. Just playing the man a bit here, hihihihihi
Hahahaha. cheers
Comment by Natashzer Hang on 20 November 2012:
As much as there is a lot of false & unjustifiable information in this article, we as academics need 2 carefully look at ourselves & better improve in our workplaces. It is very sad that so graduates will never get an opportunity to work in organisations such as the one I work for, empa, it is never late to improve ourselves in our workplace to prove everyone wrong. Maybe it has to be this way in order for it to be better le hore we should realise hore we are failing Basotho in the services we are proving re le ma-graduate a likolo tsohle kahare ho naha.
Kea bothela
Comment by S'bongile on 20 November 2012:
@Mohloa-thupa: so true what you say: so true. sex for marks is such a gut-shit it irritates me!
Comment by Seoli on 20 November 2012:
Hei! Mohloa-thupa,
I have some achievements too academically but I won’t brag about them here. I probably have even gone farer than you. But I have learned to separate myself from issues.
That said, I would to like thank you for some match. To be honest, I do agree with some of your points and that of scru. I believe you wouldnt be so much concerned if you didnt have a soft spot for NUL. We may disagree but we shouldnt be disagreeable.
All the best my friend. Now you are my friend! I wont fight you anymore!
Comment by kamohelo on 20 November 2012:
scru, whatever ur name is tsamaea olo e etsa education o lo e utloa especially EDF kapa Bsc ed. u bue hao khutla
Comment by Academic on 21 November 2012:
@mohloa-thupa wher do you get the info hore lectures discuss question papers for sex? jwale wena u tla ka ”gossip”
Comment by WILLARD MUBVUMBI on 21 November 2012:
Atencion a critica. Kikiki….
Comment by WILLARD MUBVUMBI on 21 November 2012:
ATENCION A CRITICA.
Comment by PING PONG on 21 November 2012:
Mohloa-thupa ee, ke le teng tjee! St. Agnes e nyele.
Comment by setsoana sa tebeleng on 21 November 2012:
hahahahaha…WIM Scrutator ba u bolelang…
Comment by NAZO on 21 November 2012:
Ke kopa Scru u seke oa itlontlolla pls. kehore u utloahala hantle hore u lakatsa ho kena NUL joale haona monyetla.Dnt be jealous man, sebetsa ka thata u tle u tsebe ho kena NUL,u tsebe na ho etsahalang , joale u tle u tsebe ho bua ntho eo u e tsebang. UM VERY SORI 4 U
Comment by S'bongile on 21 November 2012:
hahahahaha ….. really NAZO now!
Comment by S'bongile on 21 November 2012:
hahahahaha ….. really NAZO now! You must be joking
Comment by ntsoane on 21 November 2012:
when a fool is writing foolish and sonsonso writing one may not notice if SCKURUTA is a fool or not.ebe u entse education?ebang o e entse u e entse kae?if it is ZIM kea u utloela.ke mpa ke makatsoa ke taba ea hau ea hore B.E.D KE couso e bobebe ebe ke hobaneng u rialo?ke hobane this particular student a chitile?ache ua makatsa.may be history hase le ntho eo u e folooang, naha ea LESOTHO e busoa ke matichere a tsoang moo.ere ke ufe nako o tlo nkarabe ele hore u tlo tsebe ho ipha nako ea lentsoe TICHERE. Hoba hoja hase ka eo TICHERE OKABE O SA BUEE MAS–PA ana oo u a buang le pampiri ena u ka be u sa e ngolle u kabe u lisa likhomo ZIM KOANA KAPA U CHITA JOALO KA LIBAPALI TSANE TSA HAENO TSA BOLO.
Comment by THE PROTAGONISTIC OPTIMIST on 21 November 2012:
NUL IS THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, BUT ITS PRINCIPLES ARE SEEMINGLY PRIVATE, SO GT OVA IT NULS, ITS ABOUT TYM THE TITANIC STARTED TO SINK SO ESCAPE OR DROWN,
Comment by Sanko on 21 November 2012:
Mohloa-thupa and Scru, i find it fat for the Zim educated Lesotho times expert not to be advising this ‘great’ newdpaper to be online on time. Anyway mt MBA friends, i am of an opinion that you have very low self-esteems, the reason why you may derive some orgasm out of hauling insults at Nul consistently and hoping the Nul graduands would, for a change walk with hanging heads and adore your MBAs. For a record, there are, a many of us Nul graduands out here making a meaningful contributions, to National, and even ‘serious’ international companies some some ‘well-heeled” zim-educated and superior souls like you would only dream of.
You guys can either have a positive contribution or constructive critisism about Nul, or simply go and deal with your stinking arm-pits.
Comment by Maputsoe on 21 November 2012:
@Sanko; your grammatic leaves a lot to be desired. Now come again and tell me if you are really NUL graduate? Acheeee!
Comment by Sanko on 21 November 2012:
@maputsoe, just try point where my gramma is leaving much to be desired.
Comment by Maputsoe on 21 November 2012:
@Sanko
“graduands”
“a many of us”
“a meaningful contributions”
“you have very low self-esteems”
Ke kopa u ngole ka puo ea Moshoeshoe le oena. Khopo tsa ka li bohloko ke ho tseha uena Sanko, ka manyala a na a o u a ngotseng ka sekhooa. Acheeeee!
Comment by student on 5 April 2013:
HEE WA POTA SCRUU
Comment by easy on 8 April 2013:
Ggo to hell why dnt you teach if its as you as u said, are you mad?,are you lost? Lastly i hope you are a best reseacher keep it up wrong turn.
Comment by http://twojeczterykaty.com.pl/ on 6 May 2013:
Unquestionably the collar should not be too loose or too tight for an dog.
Dry brown foliage is the single utmost ingredient
for building good compost.
Comment by Topeto on 20 May 2013:
Scru. u r scrued. Nthoa koto is nothing e serious like ur saying. A ku ee University first o tsebe ho hlaphoeloa. What uv just sad is similar to saying ”hee bana ba university ba ea taoa.” ha o sola kena university its not even a topic but part of our daily lives.
Ngoaneso ke bula university ka garageng eso. E bitsoa University of Bitter people. It offers a Doctorate in Journalism and social networks.
Requirements:
Only GCE with the following: English N
Maths o
Accounting F
Geography u
Science t
Bible u
Basic handcrafts r
SESOTHO e
Kaha o tsoile ka tinare o tatetse ho matha le d kontae mot’seare,U got exacly d same results. You cant even c that ur results have something instore for u. Ur simbols clealy state that you have No Future so ska monela bana ba bang.
Applications for aspiring journalists should submit their applications on or before 32nd May 2013. NB: After graduation you will be given internship at BBC-London with a renumeration of 23,000(usd). NB: If you earn M2000 and below you do not qualify at all.