Lupane State University hit by a serious book shortage

The ire of students has been drawn by the shortage of textbooks at Lupane State University. The students have pointed out that the institution also does not have adequate internet services. They say this negatively affects their studies.

Some allege that the university has prioritized enrolling students while ignoring the need to avail basic textbooks to help them in their studies. Everisto Benhura, a Languages student said the shortage is affecting the timely submission of his assignments.

"We are facing difficulties because of the critical shortage of books at our library. This has also led to the late submission of our assignments because we share very few textbooks. As if that is not enough, there is also a serious shortage of computers to enable us to access the net to compliment what is there at our library," lamented the student who urged the government to help new universities with library and ICT materials.

In a separate interview, the president of the LSU Student Representative Council, Michael Mhlanga, confirmed that there is an acute shortage of library books but said the SRC shall soon be embarking on a campaign to solicit for donations from the corporate world to assist the students with up-to-date textbooks.

"Students are resorting to internet cafés for research. This is very expensive given that some of them are self-sustaining while some have parents who are unemployed. The university must introduce wireless internet to ease the pressure on the students because some have personal laptops. Very soon the SRC shall be launching a campaign to try and solicit for donations in cash or kind which will go towards the purchasing of library books," he said.

Mhlanga also said the student body will also press for the speedy completion of the university campus which has been under construction for the past seven years.