No more ‘lipstick solutions’, say students

Higher and tertiary education students have warned the government that they will shut down campuses if authorities continue to ignore the plight of students and infrastructural challenges afflicting institutions of higher learning.

Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) Secretary-General Ashley Pfunye said students were tired of government making empty promises to students and warned of the closure of all campuses if student grievances were not speedily addressed. “We are putting government on notice. No more lip service and lipstick solutions,” he said.

On March 3, President Emmerson Mnangagwa presided over the Higher and Tertiary Education Infrastructure Investment Conference held in Harare, where he guaranteed government support to address infrastructure challenges besetting the higher education sector.

He said several investors, both local and foreign, were keen to invest in the higher education sector to construct modern infrastructure through build-operate-transfer or public-private partnership models.

Over the past two decades, the higher education landscape has witnessed a significant increase in student enrolment, putting pressure on the demand for increased investments in learning space, accommodation facilities, recreational and other supporting facilities.

Government spends more than three quarters of the national budget on salaries, leaving negligible funding for capital projects.

The limited availability of decent accommodation has spawned the exploitation of students by unscrupulous landlords who charge unsustainable rentals, and has forced students to live in over-crowded areas.

At the education conference, universities and other tertiary institutions said they were struggling to fund physical infrastructure that includes staff and student accommodation, laboratories, modern libraries, lecture rooms, early childhood development blocks, clinics, sporting facilities and workshops.

ZINASU, the country’s biggest student representative body, said it was not given an opportunity to respond to the issues and promises raised during the conference, which drew participants from the president’s office, universities and colleges, potential investors and students.

Pfunye, the union’s secretary general, said the government must ensure that the bulk of the pledged funding supports student welfare through partial grants and loans.

Early this year, government announced a US$1 billion higher education loan facility administered through selected banks and micro-finance houses to assist students who are facing difficulties in paying fees, but the students maintain they want grants.

Pfunye said students must be involved in national development processes through attachment and employment opportunities when they finish their studies.

“We noted that there are many promises of projects coming up soon. The system of recruiting students for attachment and employment must be gender sensitive, merit based and non-discriminatory,” he said.

The ZINASU leader said government had failed to provide adequate accommodation for students, which has led to student exploitation by unscrupulous landlords, who charge the students rentals per head instead of per room.

“This is unfair, unhealthy, and not conducive for study. Government must provide adequate and decent accommodation to students,” he said.

Higher education cannot be globally competitive unless e-learning is fully adopted and operationalised, the students said, and for this to be realised, they also demand unfettered access to Wi-Fi and internet services.

The ultimatum by students comes hardly a week after government cut tuition fees for students on industrial attachment by 40%, meaning that students can now pay 60% of tuition while on internship.

ZINASU is unimpressed by the reduction in internship fees and says government should have scrapped 60% of the fees.