Appearing before the Higher and Tertiary Education committee of parliament on Monday, Higher and Tertiary Education minister Jonathan Moyo dismissed media reports claiming government was reinstating the student grants scheme.
Said Moyo:
We are surprised the media keep referring to grants. This isn’t the economy for grants but loans. The loan scheme requires that people work hard and we want that scheme to be just as accessible to every student at tertiary and higher education. Because it’s a loan scheme, we can’t come-up with a budget. That’s why it’s not in the budget. We are working with the Reserve Bank as well as a micro financial institution that has been mandated by the Reserve Bank to come up with this. We are working flat-out now to put it in place well head of August and when the document is ready we will share. If you are studying divinity you have to be careful that your church or pastor can gainfully employ you.
Government suspended the grants system about 10 years ago due to funding challenges. The system was replaced with a cadetship programme under which graduates were bonded by government for an equal number of years they were funded. Again, that programme failed to take-off owing lack of resources.
More: NewZimbabwe.com