THE Zimbabwe National Student Union (Zinasu) has protested the steep tuition fee hikes by universities and colleges saying it is an assault on the right to education.Universities in Zimbabwe have introduced a system whereby students are being asked to pay 60% to 70% of the fees in United States dollars and the remainder in local currency using the interbank rate.
Zinasu vice-president, Rumbidzai Hlangabeza, said many students were forced to defer or abandon studies altogether.
“This is a burden to hardworking parents and guardians and it also affects access to education. We are sons and daughters of civil servants who are earning peanuts and we cannot afford the tuition fees,” Hlangabeza told NewsDay.
“The United Nations said it is a right for all children to attend school but if it is my right, why is the school management asking for 60-70% of tuition fees in USD while we are daughters and sons of civil servants whose salaries come in Zimbabwe dollars.”
Hlangabeza expressed fear that some students may be forced to engage in criminal activities to raise the tuition fees.
“(It pains to watch) your peers engaging in criminal activities simply because the fees needed by these institutions are unjustly high. It even affects the psychology of the students,” she said.
No comment could be obtained from the Higher and Tertiary Education ministry yesterday.
Universities said the fee hikes were necessary and inevitable in the face of the economic realities whereby the local currency has continued to fall.
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