The Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and
Development, Professor Amon Murwira has said that there will be no fees
increases for all universities and other tertiary institutions in the country
until the next national budget because austerity measures are for everyone.
Prof Murwira told The Mirror in an interview this week that
the same parents who are supposed to pay fees for children at tertiary
institutions have not received salary increases at their different workplaces
and it was therefore, ironic that they should be expected to pay higher school
fees.
He called upon tertiary institutions to think outside the
box, be innovative and create other sources of income.
He said to increase tuition fees is to increase the
suffering of guardians and parents and he added that austerity measures must be
felt across the board.
Institutions of higher learning must be the stabilizing
force during the implementation of austerity measures, he said.
“Institutions of higher learning are the think tanks of the
country and they must not panic during difficult times instead they should act
as stabilising forces by dampening inflation. Our minds must be stable not
inflationary because by increasing tuition fees we are contributing to
inflation, something that we should be fighting.
“If it is austerity, let it be austerity for everyone, not
a situation where others enjoy at the expense of others,” said Prof Murwira.
He added that reviews will only be done at year end in
accordance with the budget which runs for 12 months and there is no guarantee
that there will be upwards reviews.
The tuition fees for Government run universities is pegged
at an average of $600 and tertiary institutions will only be allowed to
increase fees on food which the universities have no control over.
“The Ministry has always supported institutions by giving
them salary and operational grants. Universities have been encouraged to be
innovative in order to increase their revenue base and supplement the
Government grant. The Ministry fully supports innovations in universities and has
already provided funds for the construction and equipment of innovations hubs
and laboratories,” Prof Murwira added.
University vice chancellors recently met Prof Murwira and
told him of their dire situations because of the freeze on fees increases. They
said university could no longer afford basic functions like visiting students
on attachment, providing exam material and repairing
equipment because at
RTGS$600 a semester the fees had at that
time fallen to US$82.
Several students and parents who spoke to The Mirror hailed
the Minister’s decision and said many students had dropped out of school and
enrolments at tertiary institutions were declining even without the fees
increases.
“If you ask the universities and colleges, they will tell
you that enrolments have gone down because of the difficult economic
conditions. To increase tuition will be to make the situation much worse for
parents and students,” said Kudakwashe Dzoro.
Murwira said tertiary institutions must not always be
allowed to fall back on the easy solution of pushing economic difficulties on
guardians. He said such a culture has created a dependent syndrome on the
institutions where all they do is collect money without adding their minds to
the processes of finding solutions to the problems facing this country.
Veteran educationist, Erison Huruva applauded the Minister
for the move but was quick say that the educational institutions must be given
the latitude to pursue their goals without any interference from the parent
Ministry.
“As long as they are given the freedom to operate as they
want, there is no harm in freezing the tuition fee increases because these
institutions can use the fees to generate income for their activities,” said
Huruva.
Lawyer and academic Dr James Tsabora said the policy of
innovativeness is artificial as the universities have only started implementing
it.
“I think to keep the university fees at $600 per semester
is too artificial because that amount can’t even buy an electric iron. The
innovativeness policy must be allowed to run for at least 10 years and then it
will begin to bear fruit. The freeze must be reviewed in response to the
situation on the ground,” said Tsabora. Masvingo Mirror
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