Militant students lock out DIT administrators
 
2005-05-14 09:01:31
By Judica Tarimo

	Passersby read banners at the Dar es Salaam Information Technology (DIT) main gate yesterday. The DIT crisis worsened yesterday when students locked out the Principal, Prof John Kondoro, and other top administrative officers. (Photo: Selemani Mpochi)

Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT) students yesterday locked out top college officials in a deepening crisis that revolves around poor management.

The students who had gathered at the main gate yesterday morning blocked the principal, Prof John Kondoro, Director of Studies Richard Masika and the Director of Administration and Finance, Hamis Mfundo, from entering the compound.

They accused them of mismanaging the college and fuelling the crisis.

The students now want the administrators to resign and leave the institution to pave the way for new managers.

The students posted placards at the main gate with the ultimatum: The following should leave the premises immediately – J. Kandoro, Masika and Mfundo.

Another message read: Please, return all the institute’s property including vehicles, identity cards, laptops and office keys.

Job vacancy for the following positions – DIT Principal, Director of Studies and Administration and Finance Director, another poster declared.

A student, Lucas Warioba, said the management had allegedly failed to solve the many problems faced by students since 2002.

DIT has been experiencing on-and-off crises since 2002. The college management has completely failed to solve them. This time, they have to go, he said.

The critical issues being contested by students include poor modalities of setting examinations, poor administration of examinations at different levels and the failure to follow the college curriculum.

In the past two weeks, third-year students who completed an Advanced Diploma in Engineering course, refused to sit for final examinations set by the National Education Council of Tanzania (Necta) on the grounds that they were out of syllabus.

One of the DIT major responsibilities is to set examinations as provided for by law.

How come the institute is administering examinations set by Necta? We will never sit Necta examinations, another student, who asked for anonymity, said.

The students accused the principal of arrogance, abandoning them and failing to take their concerns seriously to work out permanent solutions.

A few months ago, we had invited him in writing to the first students’ baraza (public meeting), but he never showed up.

We did the same thing at yesterday’s students baraza, but he still refused, said the Vice-President of the DIT Students Organisation, Maro Mwita.

It seems that he (principal) is not interested in listening to the students.

How can students problems be solved under such circumstances?' Mwita wondered.

One of the female students, who declined to disclose her name, said: “He is here for us, but if he doesn’t like to listen and solve our problems, he must resign.

There is no point of having a principal who does not like to see and even talk to students.

'The student’s official said the students were in the process of presenting their case to the President’s Office for action.

'It seems that the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education is not interested in solving our problems. We presented similar issues in the past but they ignored us,' said Mwita.

“This time, students want to channel their concerns directly to the president,' he added.

He said a committee has been set up to follow the issue with the president’s office.

As we went to press, the situation was still tense and it was not clear when they would allow in the officials.

'The way I see it, students will immediately return to the classrooms if they are told that the college principal, director of studies and administration and finance, have resigned,' said Samuel Hayuna, Students’ Organisation Finance Minister.

The Guardian’s efforts to get comments from the DIT principal and other officials failed yesterday as they were not in their offices.

• SOURCE: Guardian