Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to highlight occurrences of poor
governance practices at the National University of Lesotho and to
propose the way forward for the Institution in order to get itself out of
the present quagmire. Qualitative data collection approaches have been
used to get information for this study. These have included in-depth
interviews with purposively selected key informants among
university, staff “exit interviews” with some staff members who had
recently resigned from the service of the University; content analysis
of both local print and electronic media sources; the review of the
relevant internal NUL documents such as policies and reports and
general observations by the author during participation in
deliberations over important issues at various significant policy
making University committees such as Council and Senate. The major
finding of this study has confirmed that the bulk of the critical
operations of the Institution have not been guided by the existing
policies and legal frameworks. Consequently, the various academic and
related administrative service deliveries were adversely affected as
earlier suspected. NUL must therefore make a deliberate effort to
conduct business within the confines of the law; provide proper phased
induction programmes particularly for academic and relevant
administrative staff for them to understand how the university system
operates and help them positively see their professional role in the
whole scheme of things.
