Community calls for university of agriculture

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The college was closed by the government when the late Kadar Asmal was Minister of Education in order to reduce the number of colleges of education throughout the country. Three Eastern Pondoland colleges – Lusikisiki College of Education and Sigcau College and Mfundisweni College of Education in Flagstaff – were affected by the closure.

The Mpondo nation believes that their land is rich for agriculture, but they need skills in order to farm the land properly, a situation that would be helped if there was an agricultural university in the area.

They need skills in order to farm the land properly, a situation that would be helped if there was an agricultural university in the area.

‘Bring back the passion’

“Agriculture was used to provide the money and everything else for our forefathers who educated us from that practice of agriculture and farming,” said Lusikisiki resident and business leader Nozuko Makaula.

She said the establishment of a university of agriculture in the area would bring back the passion the people of Mpondoland had in agriculture, and motivate them to go back to their roots of agriculture and farming.

“We have a lot of land which is unused, but an agricultural institution in the area may restore the passions to the whole nation of AmaMpondo. We grew up herding cattle, cultivating, planting, hoeing and harvesting. It is also the background we grew with, irrespective of whether you were a boy or girl. So we need that to be re-instilled in our children by opening the agricultural university in our area,” said Makaula.

She said the initiative would not cost the government much as most of the resources were in place at the premises of the old Lusikisiki College.