Harare lawyer Tendai Biti has criticised the country’s biggest university, the University of Zimbabwe (UZ), for increasing tuition fees, describing the hike as “unjustified, irrational and unlawful.”
UZ recently increased tuition fees from ZWL$50 000 to half a million Zimbabwean dollars.
Biti, who is a former Minister of Finance, warned that parents and guardians will find it difficult to raise the new fees. He said:
The massive tuition fee increases of over 700% at the University of Zimbabwe are irrational and unlawful.
Asking parents to fork out US$1 300 per semester for tuition alone is ridiculous.
Moreso when UZ received an additional $4.5 billion in the Supplementary Budget to take the total to $7.9 billion.
Education is a basic human right protected by section 88 of the Constitution. It is at the core of the right to human dignity.
ZANU PF’s actions at UZ are a blatant assault on the right to education. They betray the absence of an ideology or inner morality guiding the regime. Shocking bankruptcy.
Meanwhile, government spokesperson, Nick Mangwana, said UZ students should resort to schemes such as payment plans. He tweeted:
There are students whose domestic situations are such that they may struggle to pay fees.
Universities run different support schemes to assist these students to meet their fees.
Some unis like the UZ have these schemes; 1- Work Study Programmes, 2- Fees Payment Plans and 3- Student Loans.
On Monday UZ students staged a flash demonstration demanding that authorities reverse the recent tuition fee hike. | NewZimbabwe