Student menus stripped of meat as hyperinflation bites

Food standards at tertiary education institutions in Zimbabwe have taken a knock, with many, particularly government-run institutions, struggling in the context of hyperinflation to provide students with decent meals.

In the past few weeks, some of the institutions have downgraded the menu for student meals citing budgetary constraints.

In correspondence to students in September, Gweru Polytechnic advised its students that it would no longer provide meat as relish for lunch and dinner meals, electing instead to serve sadza (a thickened porridge) with beans, vegetables, cabbages and soya chunks.

The development did not go down well with most students, who argued that the revised menu was not palatable, and was inconsistent with higher education standards, as not all students were vegans.

Gweru Polytechnic Principal Washington Chandiwana said the vegetarian menu had been necessitated by budgetary constraints occasioned by the harsh economic environment, in which prices of basic commodities increase almost daily.

A kilogram of beef now costs up to ZWL100 (approximately US$6), more than six times the price it cost only a few months ago when a kilogram of beef retailed for about ZWL10 -15.

The country’s oldest university, the University of Zimbabwe, has also been forced to adapt its menu. On 26 September the university announced that it was adjusting its food standards for students to: one chicken per 12 students; one piece of beef per student; 1 kilogram of beans per 16 students, rice only twice per week, one litre of milk per 40 students and three slices of bread per student.

Outsourcing

Earlier this month, on 12 October, Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE), citing budget constraints, failed to provide food for graduating students as per tradition and only provided water to graduates, outsourcing the food provision service and citing lack of funds.

The incidents are typical of how the situation in tertiary institutions across the country is deteriorating amid inflation believed to be among the highest in the world. Last month, university lecturers said they could no longer afford to work unless they received a cost of living adjustment.

Zimbabwe National Students’ Union (ZINASU) Secretary General Ashley Pfunye said the poor student menu and the failure of institutions to provide decent meals was a national crisis engulfing all institutions of higher learning, particularly government institutions.

“There is no food and students cannot study well if they are hungry. Many of the institutions are claiming incapacitation because of relentless inflation, which is causing prices to go up almost every day. But the failure by the institutions to provide adequate or decent meals speaks to the failure by the government to run the economy,” he said.

BUSE Vice-Chancellor Professor Eddie Mwenje said it was a challenge to consistently provide service in the current macro-economic environment where prices of goods and services were escalating by the minute.

Price volatility

Mwenje, who is also chairman of the Zimbabwe University Vice-Chancellors’ Association, said universities and many other entities were operating in an environment that has gone through significant currency changes and was experiencing price volatility, which has made it difficult to consistently deliver services.

“It becomes very difficult to provide services because of the price fluctuations. The current macro-economic environment presents everyone with a lot of challenges and inconveniences and universities are not spared,” he said.

While universities have been refused the right to increase tuition fees in tandem with rising costs, Mwenje revealed the institutions had been allowed to increase food and accommodation fees.

He said this meant that universities should be in a position to provide students with decent meals, but it was still a challenge because they were operating in a hyperinflationary environment and could not keep up with the cost of goods and services.

The changes in the food menu for students shows how standards have dropped and contrast sharply with the period (1990s to early 2000s) during which tertiary education students routinely enjoyed three-course meals.