By Kanyanta
Dead silence in the library except for the quiet hum of computers, and fingers tapping away at a keyboard and an occasional rustle of turning pages. On the second floor of Caravell house, the human resource management class listens spellbound it seems as Mr. Kaira lectures on Training and Development. A lone student in a classroom on the third floor with nothing but a textbook, calculator, and a messy litter of paper for company, deadly engrossed in study.
On the ground floor, a noisy din as first year students get settled for a group presentation by The Sociologists, a group name for the group of the first year students that was presenting they research on social problems in Zambia. This was the first group presentation in this course on Social Issues scheduled for presentation on Friday the 3rd of July. We decided to stick around despite the nasty looks at the cameras.
It proved an excellent decision as we were treated to a vastly informative discourse on HIV and AIDS from various sociological perspectives – functionalist, interactionist, and conflict perspectives.
This first year group – The Sociologists were obviously well prepared and appropriately wrapped up their presentation by applying Biblical precepts on the issue of HIV and AIDS. The group was composed of three ladies and one gentleman. Gender was obviously not an issue in this composition as the group flowed in harmony with the articulation of their research work.
It was evident the instructor, Pastor Chibangula, did a poor job of trying to appear unimpressed as the group ended their presentation to a hearty round of applause. He was grinning with delight as he shooed his protégés from the lectern.
Mary Mumba, a student in the audience said the following:
“A lot of the points and explanations that have been presented are not in the lectures and so I have gained quite a lot of extra knowledge.”
This confirms how much work the group did in researching and putting their research material together for cohesive delivery to the audience. It also tells us how the first year students have learnt how to research on a topic and not limit themselves to the lecture material. This group ventured out to apply the concepts learnt during lecture time and articulate how the concepts explain the social problem of HIV and AIDS in current times.
Northrise University is truly well on course in achieving its quest to build hope for the future and leaders that can make a change for the next generation.