Students and staff at Wolaita Sodo University have lodged serious complaints with Tikvah Ethiopia, detailing a significant and ongoing deterioration in campus services, ranging from cafeteria quality and staff conduct to critical academic support and healthcare provisions. Despite students contributing substantial amounts through cost-sharing, the services provided are reportedly falling far short of expectations.
Students, some of whom have been at the university's main campus for three years since remedial programs and requested anonymity, highlighted five primary areas of concern:
**1. Food Scarcity and Untimely Service:** Despite clearly defined meal times, students frequently report that food runs out prematurely, forcing many to return to their dormitories without eating. This issue is said to be significantly impacting their ability to focus on their studies.
**2. Staff Misconduct and Disrespect:** Students claim that cafeteria staff and coordinators treat them with disrespect, resorting to insults, denigration, harassment, and condescension. "They don't see us as students," one student stated, adding, "It's as if we are eating charity, not what we pay for, and our dignity is stripped away."
**3. Inconsistent Menus and Poor Food Quality:** The university's menu is reportedly altered frequently without student consultation or justification. For instance, macaroni, previously served twice a week, has been replaced by 'kinche' (porridge), and 'zerfor' (a type of stew) is now only offered sporadically, often substituted with 'shiro' (chickpea stew). Students argue these changes do not consider their dietary needs or preferences, and the overall food quality is consistently poor.
**4. Hygiene and Service Delivery Failures:** A severe lack of staff or negligence in the cafeteria has led to students being forced to wash their own food trays and tea cups. Students described the cafeteria and dining utensils as "unfit for viewing, let alone eating from, but we have no alternative." This practice, they warn, poses a risk of communicable diseases and further undermines student dignity.
**5. Disparity Between Cost-Sharing and Service Quality:** Students expressed bitter frustration over the significant tuition and food expenses they pay each semester through cost-sharing, arguing that the services received in return are disproportionately low and of extremely poor quality.
Beyond these core issues, students also raised additional concerns:
* **Lack of Student Union Representation:** The absence of a fully functional student union, with the main and vice presidents having graduated last year, means their grievances often fail to reach the appropriate authorities. * **Inadequate Clinic Services:** Students frequently find the campus clinic unstaffed or unable to provide services when they fall ill. The clinic's ambulance is also often out of service due to a lack of fuel. * **Exam Disruptions:** Shortages of printer ink have led to exam delays and disruptions, impacting academic schedules.
Tikvah Ethiopia also gathered information from university staff, who corroborated the students' complaints, confirming a drastic decline in the institution's service quality from its previous standards.
Staff members highlighted:
* **Frequent Input Shortages:** A lack of essential supplies often leads to problems with student food provision, sometimes resulting in students being told, "There is no food, go." * **Power Outages and Generator Failure:** Prolonged power outages are common, and the generator often remains non-functional, leaving students in darkness. * **Exam Printing Challenges:** A severe shortage of printer ink means that teachers sometimes have to print or duplicate exams themselves. Paper shortages can also lead to fewer exam questions being prepared, exam delays, and even exams being administered via projector. * **Lack of Student Welfare:** Staff noted a general absence of efforts to care for students or support their academic success within the institution.
"Our university is not the university we once knew. It needs a solution," staff members told Tikvah Ethiopia.
Tikvah Ethiopia's attempts to obtain a response from the Wolaita Sodo University administration regarding the complaints from both students and staff have so far been unsuccessful. The media outlet has pledged to share the university's response once it becomes available.
Source: Telegram / tikvahethiopia