Students unions — who are they really representing?

Varaidzo Chidzuu
AT the inception of every year the festival of the Masquerades begins at each and every institution of higher learning in Zimbabwe. Eloquent students with tongues that ooze sweet nothings take on the challenge to perform their best to enthrall big crowds that guarantee an avalanche of sole returns. Thankfully I have been vaccinated against this madness by the grace reality brings. Unprejudiced; I relive the opening of each year immune to their fallacy and unmoved by ridiculous policies, cowardly printed on posters instead of being presented heroically in person.

Although amused at first by the gullible nature of first years driven in droves like cows to the slaughter to cast their votes, I feel rage at the priceless voices used carelessly to uplift the status of people who do not have them at heart.

This sudden surge of negative energy inside me conceives the question I believe many ask themselves; “Who are the Student Representative Committee (SRC) really representing?”

In the 1890s the honour of being a student representative was not the same as that of appearing on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine; it was that of a soldier upholding the dignity of his comrades no matter the consequences. The SRC was not just any ordinary organisation but a force to reckon with as each member stood steadfast in the grueling task of representing the society or students from which they came from.

Having its origins in Scotland, the SRCs were established as part of the system of ancient university governance by the Universities (Scotland) Act 1889 in the four extant universities of the time: Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews. Representatives were chosen by outgoing councillors from already existing unions and societies in the areas of sport, entertainment and academics so as to ensure a wholesome service to the entire student body. The SRC was headed by a usually paid and elected sabbatical officer who would dedicate himself wholly to his duties by taking a year off his studies. This was done for the good of the president and the entire institution as he would not only represent internal student affairs but would also be the external promoter of the institution meaning this was and is still a busy and sacred office.

When I was new to the college and its environment light years to my comprehension, the Student Representative Committee (SRC) gleamed like an honourable knight on a majestic white stallion. I looked up at the board with great reverence before I blended in and realised that all the promises they had made were vices used to get what they wanted from us. The SRC; a group of supposed heroes tend to lie on their backs and abscond from their duties with terms in office ending without achieving even one thing on their policies.

As a matter of fact what I later realised is that the student council is in dire need of representation themselves as they are steering a ship going nowhere. The worst that is happening is that the captain’s crew is unknown to the entire student body they purport to serve. After the elections the entire burden is left to the President as if he were the “Student Representative” who is not in a “Student Representative Committee”. Councillors are not only immediately losing focus on their key duties within their constituencies; they are not aware of them. Even the secretary general who is the henchman of the “all superior leader” lies in pure ignorance.

The role of the SRC is the most desirable in the script of every learning institution in the country, but those who audition for it and get the part never show up for the actual shooting. Of course there are a few exceptions in the same way there might be a needle in a haystack; having said this I would like to extend a round of applause to NUST’s former SRC president who advocated for the issuing of medical IDs to all students.

Many are chosen, but a few really act upon their calling or hearken unto the voices of the multitudes. The councillors who are the foot soldiers are turning a deaf ear to the needs of their districts as they are not up to date with the activities within their constituencies. Due to their naive nature, they do not understand that this would be a wonderful opportunity to improve their learning environment by airing the grievances of the electorate in their districts. Similarly the secretary general who is supposed to be monitoring councillor activities is not alarmed by this peculiar silence leaving one to wonder on how they are strategising to fix problems they are not even aware of.

The president who is the face of the SRC and the voice of the student body is burdened with the tasks of the other members of the committee who bail out as soon as the keys are in their pockets. On the contrary, I guess he is the one not giving orders or telling them what is expected out of them so that they can work together like a well oiled machine. It is always said “the president has failed us again”, but the truth of the matter is that the whole council failed. In a game of chess against the administration board, the student body has already lost before it has made a move.

As a result of the SRC’s uttermost imprudence; many students at higher levels have joined the resistance. Their half-baked campaigns are actually an insult to the intellect of students who have much harder bearing issues to solve. Instead of attending to urgent student affairs like unbearable living conditions and the sudden hike of school fees, the SRC has instead become pimps of events that benefit only themselves and the administration of the college. In fact the highest office; that is; SRC president is coveted not for being the sword that shapes the institution into the direction that leads to greatness, but an instrument of survival which one could use to their advantage. Many SRC presidents enjoy benefits which include an office to work from; exemption from college fees; a private residence all on top of a monthly salary as they are considered to be staff. I wonder if the institutions were to scrap off all these benefits; would anyone still want to be SRC president?

Another horror students are facing is the grave betrayal demonstrated by the very people they elected into office.

During their times of despair when a misunderstanding arises with the college authorities; the council does the despicable of laying them down on the sacrificial table. Yes; I know that many times we as the students are guilty as charged but is it not their duty to take up the role of brother’s keeper since they are also students and not puppets who do the will of the administration board? Alas, instead of looking at a matter from the student’s point of view so as to defend him/her to the best of their abilities, they become part of the Pharisees that condemn them to their expulsion.

Looking back in time, I realise that the SRC was a powerful tide whose strength dominated beyond the fence of the institution. It was the scholars’ voices which shaped the path of the colleges and universities if not the entire country.

SRC presidents were so fearless and highly influential that their names demanded recognition within all four corners of the country as they led student uprisings advocating for justice. Most of them have been catapulted by this prestigious position into present day politics such as former Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara who was the University of Zimbabwe’s SRC President in 1988 and 1989. Although rumoured to be linked with various movements and political parties, today’s SRC is so spineless that it even fails to tangle itself upon national student bodies such as Zicosu and Zinasu. Our own committee at Bulawayo Polytechnic is filled with ceremonial members. The presidency is a state lottery competition where by the winner gets a one in a lifetime opportunity to eat, live and learn at the college for free. Nothing of substantial value has been accomplished for the past three years with the same problems of five years ago prevailing triumphantly.

To cope with the painful sores inflicted by a traumatic accident; the human body usually slips into a coma to heal itself from deep within. That is exactly what I have done to protect myself from the repetitive insults thrown at my intellect every voting season. The earnest faces on the colourful posters say that they mean well, but subconsciously I know that everything is just a cheap old act.

“The world is darkness; knowledge is light; but knowledge without truth is a mere shadow.” said Ali ibn Abi Talib.

Varidzo Chidzuu is a Computer Systems Engineering student at Bulawayo Polytechnic Contacts: [email protected]