Khaku ready to educate

The post of Education Officer was the only which was not contested with only Sumaiya Khaku running. The only girl on the new Sabb team she promises she “can hold my own.”

Despite being unopposed she said, “I really wasn’t expecting to win.” She was not present at Elections Night due to a prior commitment to volunteering in London. She won with 1948 votes out of the 2629 cast.

In her manifesto she highlights the issues of Wednesday afternoons free for Postgrads, more study spaces in the Library, more books and improving the SSLC system.

Khaku said her first priority will be securing lecture-free Wednesday afternoons for Postgrads. This year the SU succeeded in pushing the limit on lectures for Undergrads from 2pm to 1pm, but it took much lobbying. When asked how she plans to make this huge change in University policy Khaku said, “I think I’m being a bit over optimistic if I say I will achieve the whole thing in one year” but that she wants to “at least set the grounding for it.”

Another key change she wants to work on is reviewing the SU policy on tuition fees; Keep the Cap campaign is not one of the priorities of the SU.

After doing kitchen tours Khaku said she found that lots of students were “unsure” as to what her role as Education Officer actually entailed. She wants to continue to communicate directly and meet with students once she begins her term next year. “I will go around kitchens whenever I have time,” she said, explaining that this is the best way to really hear what students want.

SSLCs and problems with the system were also brought up repeatedly. One way in which Khaku plans to improve it is to change the questions and requirements for winning the Warwick Achievement Awards. This incentive could provoke students to take the role more seriously and not jut turn up at meetings when “personal problems” arise, something Khaku and others feel is often the case.

She also wants to encourage more communication between the SSLC and the students so that it is genuinely representative.

During Hustings, Khaku said she felt that a lot of the Library has become “more of a social space” with three and four becoming “whispering floors”. She wants to make floors three to five absolutely silent. This is one policy she found was supported when talking to students during her kitchen runs.