A High Court judge Thursday postponed a case in which University of Zimbabwe (UZ) students are seeking an order compelling the higher learning institution to reverse its steep fee increase.
The UZ Students Representative Council (SRC) approached the High Court challenging a staggering 1 000% fee hike in September.
Under the new fee structure, undergraduate students have to pay as much as $500 000 and a million for masters studies per semester.
NewsDay reported that High Court judge Justice Tawanda Chitapi postponed the matter to November 24 saying he needed more time to come up with a ruling. Chitapi said:
It’s a case of bringing the vice-chancellor and the minister who made the suggestion together and hear the reasons for the increase in fees, so as to know whether it’s deemed as a necessary measure, knowing how the decision came about will shed more light on how to go about this case, hence hearing is set for November 24.
According to the students’ lawyer Tendai Biti, the fee hike was unjustified. Argued the students:
Consultations were done the wrong way as just one member of the SRC was requested to attend the meeting when by right other members of the council were supposed to be present there.
By right the process of fees hiking should have been done the right way and that involves consultations with the students’ council, the finance committee and the financial council. All of these mentioned parties were not involved in this unlawful act.
The September fees hike triggered protests and some students were arrested after police stormed the UZ main campus.
Other state universities also raised their fees citing the inflationary economy under which they operate.