Dear Editor,
Teacher education is critical for the development of our young minds. For those who are serving in the system to mould the nation’s children, I wish you well and that you continue to thrive in that feat. However, we who are now embarking on that journey are faced with momentous challenges. We started the Cyril Potter Training College in April last year as a pre-service teacher trainee with all the challenges in the pandemic, poor planning, and the inadequacies of the college to deliver its content. In all of this, we have had to experience the failure of our lecturers to attend classes and the many insults we would have gotten from them for no reason. The college seems to be out of reach, calls to the college nor the principal never got answered. Thanks to the Ministry of Education for its intervention in placing officers directly at the college to render assistance, which brought significant relief.
Additionally, in the foray, we the students have to endure the enormous cost to print, and in some cases, travel from our homes to nearby internet hubs so we can attend lectures. All of this is done using data. Imagine attending a lecture using phone data in the interior, especially. Traditionally, the college gives monthly stipends to resident students and more so, to students who are from the interior regions. We, as indigenous students who are eager to serve this nation, this batch of students, have not received any stipend and we are appealing to the relevant authority to consider our financial challenges and pay us the stipend. While it is not an exorbitant amount, it will compensate for our travelling and internet expenses; we would have already spent thousands of dollars on internet data to attend classes. We are asking the College and the Ministry of Education to please pay us.
Sincerely,
Frustrated hinterland student
