THE government should be careful in its push to have Lupane State University (LSU) relocating to its campus which is under construction in the Matabeleland North capital before relevant infrastructure is put in place.
LSU is set to become the first tertiary institution in Matabeleland North and the construction of the campus in Lupane has taken too long.
The doors for its first intake opened in 2005 where it used the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) premises in Bulawayo’s for lectures. Its administration was at the National University of Science and Technology.
The university has been leasing several buildings in Bulawayo as it expands, but that is hardly ideal for an institution of its stature.
LSU should be operating from Lupane as was envisioned from its inception.
However, the upgrading of Lupane into a town fit for its provincial status has been dragging for too long.
LSU has an enrolment of over 5 000 students and has hundreds of lecturers. The relocation of the university to Lupane would mean that infrastructure such as sewage and water reticulation is upgraded to serve the increased population.
Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development deputy minister Godfrey Gandawa told Senate last week the department of agriculture had to move to Lupane by July.
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Former Matabeleland North governor Sithokozile Mathuthu was quick to point out to the deputy minister that the relocation would not be possible considering the level of infrastructure development in Lupane.
Mathuthu knows better because she was on the ground as governor until last year and now as a senator for the province.
The relocation of the university should not be a mere political statement. It is common knowledge that government programmes are taking too long to complete because of the chronic underfunding and Gandawa should be careful not to make promises that cannot be fulfilled.
LSU can only relocate when everything is in place because complicating the lives of lecturers and students for political expedience would be tragic.
The present infrastructure would be overstretched and qualified lecturers could be reluctant to move to a campus that is substandard and they are not assured of proper accommodation.
If the Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs minister is still operating from Bulawayo because he has no accommodation in Lupane, what would make the LSU case more urgent?
