Zinasu blast govt for not listening to students concerns

Zimbabwe National Students Union has said the state of students affairs in Zimbabwe has gradually but surely deteriorated over the decades of mismanagement both and policy and administratve levels.

The Zimbabwe National Students Union participated in the 21days of activism under the 4th day's topic of 'Students Affairs'.

"This deterioration can be directly linked to the worsening governance standards in Zimbabwe which are a natural result of dictatorship, closed democratic space and the continued rule by a system and individuals who do not understand our situations as students and aspirations as youths," Makomborero Haruzivishe said.

"On the 4th day of the #21daysofactivism the Zimbabwe National Students Union is asking some of the most critical questions in our country that when our chancellor (President Robert Mugabe), numerous vice-chancellors, principals, ministers, members of parliament and various other government officials managed to access education and acquire degrees for free and getting academic grants and loans in the then colonial Rhodesia and independent Zimbabwe, why is it now an academic crime to enroll at an institution of higher and tertiary learning, that we deserve to be punished by symesterised academic fines (euphemised as tuition fees) of more than $600 a semester (excluding accommodation, transportation and other ancillary services)."

Haruzivishe said this is a direct result of an offensive by an insensitive government to  privatize education, and profiteer from our learning through reduction of state spending in the education sector.

"State funding funding to state institutions was reduced, remuneration of teachers and lectures slashed, academic loans and grants for students scrapped. These we subsequently replaced by exorbitant tuition fees which are by far to expensive for our unemployed and underemployed parents and guardians. They(Robert Mugabe and organizers of his $2million dollar birthday party) have no idea of the humiliation parents and guardians face every term and semester when they are required to pay fees which are well beyond their earnings and have to put up for the whole year, or forever with their children at home after failing to raise these abnormal fees," said Haruzivishe.

"This has resulted in massive school deferments and dropouts with some students forced to resort to prostitution to manage the high education bills, with some giving in, finding sanctuary in the streets as vendors, and others resorting to cross-border trading. As if this is not enough, the Robert Mugabe dictatorship further resorted to stealing the little that remained in higher education through massive corruption. Hundreds of thousands of USDollars of the school fees that students pay in colleges and universities are siphoned to sponsor non-developmental activities like the the president's birthday and sponsor solidarity marches for him dubbed the 'million men march'. Officials(Like Minister of HTE Prof. Jonathan Moyo) in the ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education ravage the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund through corruption with impunity and even justify their corruption of money mearnt to enhance manpower skills development for students with these birthday crusades."

Haruzivishe said it is within these confines that the Zimbabwe National Students Union, in their bid to have a democratic and inclusive Zimbabwe, where the students issues and concerns are heard and addressed, are also taking part in the #21daysofactivism as a means to knock on the doors of the conscience of their chancellor, to stop this massive show of opulence amidst excessive rot in the welfare of students.

"We are demanding Robert Mugabe to urgently address issues concerning the welfare of students and education in Zimbabwe before eating his $2million dollar cake.  Below is the list of demands: That government establish financing mechanisms that enable children from poor communities to  access education from primary level up to tertiary level institutions, That all students, regardless of social, regional, cultural or economic background be able to access education without financial discrimination through expensive tuition fees That the government observe and implement section 75 of the Zimbabwean constitution which guarantees all Zimbabweans basic state funded education, That President Mugabe, as chancellor of all universities, implement the promises he made to the students of Zimbabwe on academic loans and grants."

Haruzivishe said that no student be denied their right to education due to failures to pay the illegal exorbitant tuition fees, that all officials involved in corruption of educational funds be arrested and pay back the money they stole.