THE Zimbabwe National Students Union (Zinasu) has protested the devaluation of the local currency saying it will only heighten the challenges faced by students across the country’s tertiary institutions.
This comes as university students had recently rallied to protest the steep tuition fee hikes amid a harsh economic downturn.
The situation has been worsened by the loss of value of the ZiG as retailers last week threatened to close down their businesses as they felt the heat from the black market.
Zinasu secretary-general Emmanuel Devine Nyakudya told NewsDay that the devaluation of the ZiG will worsen the suffering of students.
“The mere fact that the ZiG official rate shot from 1:13 to 1:25 just days after the civil servants were paid speaks volumes in terms of shrinking of their salary value, thereby directly affecting students in terms of their welfare at campus and most importantly, impeding other students from attaining their education,” he said.
“This devaluation has made life much harder for students and parents in Zimbabwe. With a 40% devaluation of the local currency, imports have become more expensive, which means that goods and services, including educational materials and fees, have increased significantly with no notice.”
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Nyakudya said this would lead to higher costs for everything, including textbooks and transportation, making it challenging for parents and students to make ends meet.
“The devaluation has resulted in higher fees at educational institutions, which are often denominated in foreign currencies like the US dollar, which furthermore will not match in any way with the devalued ZiG salary our parents and working students earn per month,” the student leader said.
“The overall cost of living in Zimbabwe has increased, putting a strain on families’ finances and making it difficult to prioritise educational expenses. We are citizens before we are students and the high cost of living in Zimbabwe is greatly affecting us.”
Nyakudya blamed government for the volatility of the situation saying the authorities waited for companies and institutions to run payrolls using the bank rate of 1:14.
“After that, they devalue the currency and budgets are eroded by 44%. It’s very sad. As students, we are worried about which currency the budgets will be decided on and if we do not risk to repeat the same mistake over and over again, all in the name of patriotism, the education system will be left in a shambles,” he said.
Last year, tertiary students across the country bemoaned the hike in tuition and accommodation fees, with others taking the matter to the courts.
Other students failed to access their results after facing challenges in paying fees.
This year, the students said they feared a repeat of the same as the currency is rapidly taking a heavy beating, further dimming their fees and basic services affordability.