University of Zimbabwe students are leaving no stone unturned in their bid to have the University’s fees reduced. Last week the university fees for the September 2022-December 2022 semester and the new fees did not go down well with a lot of students and stakeholders. Fees for undergraduate students went from as little as $60 000 ZWL to a whooping $480 000 ZWL. While authorities at the institution say the fees are justified given the recent spike in inflation most students feel that the university is ignoring the plight of most people in Zimbabwe whose salaries are not reviewed as often including civil servants who earn far less than this.
The proposed tuition fees are not considerate of the other essential expenses every student has to go through.
Most students are not from Harare which means they need to cover their accommodation and with where the university campus is located, surrounded by low-density suburbs, the accommodation charges are higher than US$50 per month.
The average salary of a civil servant is US$175. At that amount, the majority of parents cannot afford to pay the proposed fees since they also have to cover family basic expenses.
To consider our petition as an urgent matter and immediately intervene in the UZ fees-making process to guarantee that the right to basic education is respected through the charging of affordable fees.
Reads part of the petition by UZ students to parliament.
Thus far government officials have ignored the importuning from students. Officials have suggested that those who cannot afford the fees ought to approach CBZ which has a student loan scheme. Some government-affiliated officials have even gone as far as to tell some complaining students to consider selling tomatoes and quipped that educationn is a privilege is and not a right.
