Govt should address plight of students on industrial attachment
Last year Richard Muchenje (not his real name), a polytechnic student on attachment, failed to secure his fees until March. Because of Higher Education Examination Council (Hexco) regulations that require a student to be attached for a year, Richard was t
FOR the year he spent on attachment he could also not receive the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund (Zimdef) trainee allowance of $100 per month, which is meant to sustain a tertiary student on attachment.
It said the forms could also be processed after completion of fees payment.
Richard later had to take matters into his own hands and approach the principal for a debt settlement plan to enable him to make late payments, receive the log book and get a late assessment.
According to Richard the process was cumbersome and required a lot of persuasion, which affected his performance.
“I came to a point where l just wanted to quit but something kept me fighting. An ordinary student would not have managed to win the battle,” he said.
Richard was lucky to scrape through with his plans. In many instances, students confronted with the dilemma of being unable to pay full fees especially during the first term of attachment year, face the predicament of being deferred or worse quitting.
Reports says at least 12 000 students from the country’s various tertiary institutions have been forced to drop out of school over the years because of the economic situation in Zimbabwe
According to Zimstat’s latest figures, the country’s poverty datum line stands between $430 and $574 for an average household of 5 and $96 for a self-sustaining individual, depending on location.
That means many Zimbabweans live well below the poverty datum line and those with jobs probably earn far below it too.
With some Zimbabweans struggling to meet basic needs, parents fail to raise fees for their children and the burden weighs heavily on the student.
Recently there has been an outcry from students from all over the country demanding that fees on attachment be scrapped or at least be reduced to ease the burden they are facing.
Many students on attachment receive little allowances which are not enough to cater for transport, food and at times accommodation for those attached far from home.
The Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Prof Amon Murwira, acknowledged the challenges being faced by students and said his ministry was working towards tackling the root cause which was access to financial resources.
“We understand that our students have problems accessing financial resources. We also understand that polytechnics and colleges have problems running those institutions without money because there is no more grant money for supporting them and they use student fees,” he said.
“However, the problem is not whether students should pay fees or not, the problem is access to financial resources.
“As a ministry we are busy raising funds for student loans from financial institutions and banks so that we basically remove the root problem.”
The minister also guaranteed that in the new dispensation things would be done differently including early payments of Zimdef funds after a probe into the organisation is complete.
“Zimdef is under probe, there is forensic audit, meaning certain activities are stopped in order to make sure we govern our funds. We are trying to solve the problem that everybody knows was at Zimdef,” the minister said.
“We are also availing attachment grants in a bid to minimise their trouble so that they can have food and transport. We are looking for solution-based approach not argument approach.”
Minister Murwira also urged students to get information about student loans which were already being availed at tertiary institutions to avoid cases of dropping out.
“Students loans available in institutions and polytechnics should be known to all students. Information should be made available so that students have all the information they need on how to access the loans. We want students to progress, not drop out of school because of financial problems,” he said.
The minister also condemned the idea of institutions charging students on attachment things like sports levy, local medical aid and breakages saying it was not logical considering the students would not be available to access the facilities.
Students Rights Association activist Cosmas Mukubvu called for dialogue between stakeholders and students to agree on the reduction of fees depending on where one is attached for parity.
Zimbabwe Congress of Students Union (Zicosu) once approached the ministry to press for the reduction of fees without any success.
“It is not practical that students pay full fees when there are facilities that they do not use while on attachment,” he said.
“We need to have dialogue with the Chancellor, Vice Chancellors and students so that we come up with a solution that best addresses the student needs under the circumstances.”
The new minister has however pledged to address the matter, which has become a thorny issue for students.
Zicosu president Takudzwa Gambiza said the organisation was looking for workable options that were sustainable in the long run such as encouraging institutions to be innovative to create alternative ways to funding the education system and receiving of allowances.
“We once approached the former minister Prof Jonathan Moyo to address students’ concerns from such predicament and nothing was done,” he said. “He was arrogant and said full fees for students on attachment were going to stay. What we have been asking for is realignment of fees to suit the students’ needs.”
It emerged that completely scrapping of fees was not practical as it would burden the institutions who solely depend on fees for their daily operations. At least 85 percent of the country’s revenue goes to salary payments and the remaining 15 is distributed to cover all critical sectors of the economy.
Most students come from poor backgrounds and any relief in the form of allowances and cuts in fees would help keep the majority of them in school and pursue their careers.