University students forced to cough up after lecturers strike

By Lance Guma
02 July 2007

Students at the University of Zimbabwe face eviction from their halls of residence following demands by the institution that they pay Z$1 million in top up fees for the remaining month of July. Students reacted angrily arguing the semester was extended by 7 weeks because of a strike by lecturers and yet government was making them meet the financial consequences of its own incompetence. To make matters worse students say the announcement was made on the 27th June while the deadline was set for the 29th, effectively giving them only 2 days to raise the money. Those who fail to pay have been told they will be evicted.

UZ student’s representative council president Lovemore Chinoputsa accused the regime of trying to thwart the ‘robust and vibrant students movement’ by deliberately forcing students out of residence. Students from the Arts, Social Sciences, Veterinary Science, Commerce and Science faculties are mainly affected. Lecturers went on strike in February this year leading to a serious disruption of lessons for the students. Students at the time urged government to resolve the demands of their lecturers but met with the usual stubbornness from the regime.

On Monday Benjamin Nyandoro a Programmes Officer with the UZ SRC confirmed plans by the union to file a High Court application challenging the top up fees. He also expressed frustration with the judiciary saying students now have a lot of applications pending in the courts. Several of their leaders were barred from writing exams while others were expelled or suspended. He warned they might target judges in future protests if they continued helping the regime. Meanwhile the National University of Science and Technology has not made any demands for its students to pay top up fees despite being affected by the strikes. Other institutions like the Midlands State University did not extend their semester.

In another story highlighting challenges being faced in the education sector some private schools have begun charging fees in foreign currency. The Zimbabwe dollar has been in free fall and made it hard for most schools to budget expenditure. This has necessitated top-up fees, which sometimes are higher than the original fees charged. Others have implemented new systems to ensure parents pay fees on a monthly basis rather than every term. One school is reported to have sent out a circular pegging fees at US$110 (Z$18 480 000) per month.