Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and
Technology Development Minister Professor Amon Murwira has defended State
university fees of between $3 500 and $5 000 per semester, saying they were
meant to uphold quality education.
This was after he was subjected to a barrage of questions
in the National Assembly yesterday where members sought to know whether the
Government had considered what ordinary workers were earning.
Legislators told Prof Murwira during the question and answer
session that ordinary workers were earning $800.
Pegging State university fees at $5 000, they said, had the
effect of excluding most of them as the majority of parents could hardly afford
the new fees.
But Prof Murwira defended Government’s decision, saying the
fees were reasonable and meant to uphold quality education that Zimbabwe was
known for.
He said State universities intended to hike the fees by
more than double what was now set, prompting central Government to intervene
and moderate their demands.
“We determined the level of fees based on people’s income,
and we followed procedures. We are saying we have to access quality education.
Our last ordinance of 2019 was in United States dollars. This is the first time
that we are putting ordinances in Zimbabwean dollar. We are talking of levels
of fees and not increases. We just determined the fundamentals of quality
education,” said Prof Murwira.
“We cannot have a class without chemicals and equipment.
That can only be a populist policy to destroy the education system. The state
of the economy of the country is determined by the state of its higher
education.
“We cannot politick with higher and tertiary education. If
we politick with it, we are politicking with our future.”
He said Government had introduced student loans to cater
for those who could not afford the fees.
Legislators were however, not convinced by Prof Murwira’s
explanation as they felt the fees were out of sync with what ordinary persons
were earning.
Buhera South legislator Cde Joseph Chinotimba (Zanu PF)
said workers were earning far less than the fees and asked how they were
expected to afford.
Others said Government had recently gazette wages for
domestic worked pegged at less than $200 and the fees would mean that they would
not be able to send their children to tertiary institutions. Herald
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