Visibility, Honesty and Transparency are the key values Njabulo Nkomonde aims to encompass as the Student Representative Council’s (SRC’s) Organisation and Accommodation Officer.

The 27-year-old Nkomonde is a  Business Administration Postgraduate Diploma student. He grew up in a small village called eThalaneni Thalathula section in Nkandla, and was raised by his grandmother uMaNtombela Nkomonde (Intombi kaSophia phaqa).

He went to eThalaneni Primary and to Mbizwe High School,  and that is where he had understand what is required by life for a person to change their mindset and attitude towards certain things.

His journey saw him failing in Grade 10 but he never allowed that to deter him, so he dusted himself and went on to matriculate in 2014, obtaining his Bachelor pass. He also gave thanks to the people who helped him in his journey, especially the late Mr Mhlongo (Njomane kaMgabhi), the man who believed in him.

Nkomonde enrolled at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) in 2018 and his journey has not been easy, especially during his first year.

“On my arrival there was a staff strike and the registration process had so many glitches. I registered in early January but was only allocated my student residence in the first week of March, I stayed in a temporary residence for two months and I lost most of my belongings since I was moving up and down changing rooms at Indumiso Residences. However, I had to persevere and hold on since I knew where I came from,” he said.

Nkomonde shared that his role in the SRC is challenging at times and one of the hurdles he has faced since his appointment, are in relation to the fact that academic departments and some units were not user-friendly after their inauguration.

“The SRC had to request meetings with almost all stakeholders, it was more of us pitching ourselves to them to ensure they change their perception towards the SRC since we don’t know the history or their encounter with the previous Student Representative Council office bearers,” he added.

The difference that Nkomonde plans to bring to the SRC pertains to being more visible, honest and transparent. He believes that as the Student Representative Council, (SRC), their job is to protect students by always being available to them, listening to their inputs and giving constructive criticism, ensuring that all clubs and societies serve the purpose of changing the lives of DUT students.

“Most importantly, as the SRC Organisation and  Accommodation Officer, my role is to ensure that students are living in conducive residences. Our aim is to be available to students all the time, this has been lacking for quite some time. Students need to be protected,” he stressed.

Besides his vital role at the SRC,  Nkomonde has great academic aspirations.

“Since I will be doing my postgraduate Diploma (We do not have an honours degree in BA at DUT but the postgraduate Diploma is NQF level8 which is equivalent to an honours degree, however, it is critical that we place the correct name of the programme). This year in 2023,  the future plan is to do my Master’s degree, and the following years to come I believe my family deserve to have someone with a Doctors title by profession, my late parents will be proud. As the youth we must make use of this opportunity given to us because we don’t know what’s in the tunnel of life,” he added.

He conveyed that the SRC had done prior planning for the 2023 academic year.

“In 2022,  we visited all departments and units where we were able to get a platform for the negotiation and the implementation of strategic solutions for a smooth registration,” he said.

Nkomonde made mention that this SRC is different from the rest (previous SRC executives) since they are driven by their passion, discipline and their ambition to being very informative as they do not want any students to be misled in terms of information being disseminated.

Pictured: Njabulo Nkomonde

Nomvelo Zulu/Waheeda Peters