UZ in shocking fees storm
The oldest university in Zimbabwe, the UZ popularly known as Pachikomo, produced a shocker last week. Many students and their guardians and sponsors were left shell shocked after the tertiary institution released a new fees structure that could see postgraduate students forking out a hefty one (1) million Zimbabwe dollars.
Undergraduates are to pay an upwards of 480 000 Zimbabwe dollars. Students took to micro-blogging site Twitter to vent their anger. Others even called upon the Citizens Coalition for Change, CCC to do something about the situation.
The silence of the opposition on the University of Zimbabwe fee hikes is the reason young people are not going to register to vote. Their timelines are all about Jonara, the bible and who's good at international affairs.
— Rabhelani Mguni📝❤ (@RabhelaniM) September 10, 2022
The fee structure is exorbitant even after converting it to United States dollars, USD using black market rates. At a rate of 1 USD to 900 RTGS, the postgraduate or masters programs will be going for at least 1100USD. The undergraduate fees would be 600USD. This new fee structure put University education at the institution beyond the reach of many.
This new fee structure comes at a time when the USD/RTGS rate is falling. The black market rate once peaked to 1000 in August 2022 but is steadily falling with some now using 800. The new fee structure is therefore not in line with prevailing market rates. If they are charging with the anticipation that the rate will rally again at some point, the new fee structure becomes speculative and unethical.
Asi havazvizive kuti vabereki vedu maCivil servants…UZ iyi 😥
— Judith's Rose 🌹 🇿🇼 (@DivineMuringani) September 10, 2022
Furthermore, the new structure dwarfs civil servants salaries. With majority of workers in the civil service earning less than 50 000 RTGS, many won't afford to send their children to the UZ. A civil servant will need at least a year (assuming the rate remains constant) of saving every cent (without paying rentals, transport or buying food) to save up for just one semester. Education at the UZ is now for the rich.
Education at the University of Zimbabwe is now a preserve of the wealthy few. The new fees structure turns the institution into either a elitist school or a profit seeking private company. Both of these are not good for Zimbabwe's development.
