Opinion / Columnist
Mugabe destroying Zimbabwe's last treasure
17 Mar 2015 at 06:36hrs | Views
Lectures and non-teaching staffs at state universities have put tools down again over non-payments of December bonuses and February salaries.
The resumption of the strike by Lecturers marks a return to anarchism in our education system. There is no doubt that the action by the lecturers will have a ripple effect on our only lucrative export to Africa and the world: Education.
Education is Zimbabwe's net export to the world competing with our diamonds and tobacco. President Robert Mugabe's populist policies such as the fast track land reform and Indigenisation policy destroyed the country's economy and education is the only sector which is still on its feet.
Zimbabwe's education is a source of pride everywhere in the globe, our people are famous for their technical skills and they are praised for being hardworking and proficient.
This reputation which took years to mould will wane into dust if the situation is left unabated. Education is our last treasure and every concerned Zimbabwean especially the youths must come together and condemn the government for its reluctance to find a lasting solution to this problem.
The ground is now ripe for the re-birth of student activism of the 1990s which is famed for its adversarial approach to administrative malfeasance. Our Student leaders must insulate their hearts, wear shock absorbers and march their troops to Africa Unity square.
Our education system is our jewel and everyone including Mugabe must know this in no uncertain terms. Student strike should not be limited to UZ campus, but should go national.
NUST, MSU, Great Zimbabwe, Lupane University and all other tertiary university students must heed the call and lift their lids at this crucial moment where our last fortune is being destroyed by the old generation.
We are not commercial farmers who were labeled racists when they protested over Mugabe's disastrous land reform. Neither are we are like black business people such as Mutumwa Mawere who were dismissed as stooges of the whites when they registered their displeasure on the economic policies Mugabe was pursuing.
We are independent Zimbabwean youths concerned about the state of our education.
Youths must not be equivocal about this struggle to arrest the decline of our education system. We should not be fighting for Tsvangirai's political gains, but for the restoration of the dignity that our education system deserves.
ZINASU and ZICOSO must find a common ground this time around if they are indeed student unions. Ideological difference should be put aside and work for this honourable cause.
Our industries are now in the intensive care unit. Our once vibrant agriculture sector is now a fathom. Let's unite and ensure our prestigious education system is sustained.
Our degrees must not be useless like Gono's bearer's cheques. Once the outside world renounces our education system, we will all die touts and airtime vendors instead of being future innovators and democratic figures.
Musavengana Hove is a youth activist based in Bulawayo. Email soldierjournalist@gmail.com for feedback.
Source - Musavengana Hove
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