University of Namibia's (Unam) Kept Students Waiting

University of Namibia's (Unam) Kept Students Waiting

CLOSE to 20 students who were contracted to work on the University of Namibia's (Unam) online registration early this year had to wait for four months for their pay as staff in some departments argued over who should pay them.

Unam's Computer Centre contracted 18 students to work on the project for two weeks on condition they would be paid between N$1 500 and N$2 000 by the Office of the Registrar.

Sources said that although the students submitted claim forms a long time ago, the Office of the Registrar allegedly refused to pay them.

“We worked very well and handed in the claim forms but Unam hasn't given us what belongs to us,” an angry student said.

The students are said to have been told rudely that it was none of their business to demand payment.

The students charged the university a rate of N$24,20 per hour which they said was not even commensurate with the work they had done.

For the past four months the students claim they had been sent from one office to another as departments argued over who was responsible for paying the students for the work although all the departments benefit from the students' work.

At the end of last week the students were informed that the Computer Centre had finally decided to pay them.

Efforts to get comment from Utaara Hoveka the Unam's Public Relations Officer were not fruitful.