Mahere Says The Govt Is "Anti-poor" Following An "Astronomical Increase In Fees By UZ"

The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) has raised students’ fees for the August – December 2022 Semester raising the eyebrows of many. The new fee structure seen by Pindula News suggests that an engineering student now needs to pay at least ZWL$500 000.

Responding to the development, Fadzayi Mahere, a former Law lecturer at the UZ said the “poor” won’t afford the fees. Mahere who is also the national spokesperson of the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) called upon authorities to review the fees downwards. She said:

The astronomical increase in fees by the @UniversityOfZim can only be described as criminal. This regime is anti-poor. A civil servant earns US$150 but has to pay ZWL$500,000 for an engineering student. That excludes living expenses. We need new leaders.

49% of Zimbabweans live in extreme poverty. A civil servant barely earns $200,000 yet the UZ has pegged fees at between $500,000 and $1million. How will the poor afford this? @edmnangagwa has failed to deliver affordable, quality education for Zimbabweans.

If you’re not outraged by the UZ fees hike, you’re not paying attention. Once upon a time, UZ education was free. Now, unemployed parents living in extreme poverty are asked to pay half a million dollars in fees. Is affordable, quality education too much to ask? #FeesMustFall

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Takudzwa Ngadziore, the leader of the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) also rallied “young people” to demand a review of the fees downwards. He said: 

The recent fees structure at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) sends a strong message to young people. We should unite & fight this authoritarian regime.A dysfunctional education system is detrimental to National Development. #FeesMustFall should be the talk & walk @Zinasuzim FIGHT.

Other commentators also said education was becoming a privilege as school fees in Zimbabwe are now beyond the reach of an average parent.

Fees have been going up in recent years with learning institutions citing the depreciation of the Zimbabwe dollar.

Pindula News