Right-setting fees for sustainable quality university education

It certainly does not make sense that our higher education, which is at the apex of the entire education system, and which is internationally benchmarked, meaning it requires specialised facilities and tuition, turns out cheaper than foundational primary and secondary education. This anomaly, which in actual fact meant enormous subsidies for higher education by Government, had to be corrected. Government thus supported university authorities in their decision to take the necessary corrective action.

Expanding higher education

There is also another compelling reason. Our tertiary education has expanded tremendously. From a single university at Independence in 1980, we now have 17 State universities, including some which are highly specialised. In addition, we have several satellite campuses and facilities for distance education, which in sum swell enrolments in these highly critical institutions. The national student population has grown tremendously. Need for more facilities, infrastructure To the university, we are building more and more structures, including facilities for student accommodation. A significant part of the national budget is thus going towards setting up and expanding these institutions, including planning for new ones. The financing formulae for our higher education has had to change, so the burden of this growth is shared to make it sustainable, and so we retain our reputation as a purveyor of best tertiary education by international standards.

How do we compare with other universities?

Following this decision on fees by governing University Councils, I, as Chancellor of all State universities, requested university authorities to furnish me with a comparative schedule for fees charged by similar institutions in our region and beyond. After receiving and examining the schedule, it has become quite apparent that the old fees we charged were untenable, while the new fees which our universities now propose are not just reasonable, but still either below or within range of what their peers in the region are charging. With the exception of universities of Namibia and Malawi, fees now being levied by most of our universities are at par or below those obtaining at other universities in our Sadc region.

Cost of service considerations

A more sustainable way of looking at the new fees as agreed to by University

Councils is measuring them against costs of dispensing quality tertiary education under current circumstances obtaining in our country.

I am positive that the fees levels suggested fall far below the costs of providing the service. This means that even with the new, relatively higher fees, Government still has to move in with some subsidies. We thus are not privatising higher education, in which case the fees would have been based on a cost-plus formulae, which we all know would make the service unaffordable to many eligible students and their sponsoring families.

Ameliorating student financial burden

As Chancellor, I have also directed that all State universities look at ways of making the financial burden of securing higher education bearable. There are many avenues and mechanisms which can be invoked and pursued to ensure gifted students from poor backgrounds are assisted and not disadvantaged. It is my wish as Chancellor and as the President of the country to ensure we leave no student behind.

Low loan uptake

I, however, remain concerned that the loan facility which Government guarantees, and which Government administers through banks, is not being taken full advantage of by our students. Only about 10 000 students have benefitted so far, a remarkably small number in relation to our student population. We set up that facility for students to take full advantage of. I am also told that universities do accommodate flexible payment plans to allow families to spread the financial burden of procuring university education.

Calling on private sector

Additionally, I call upon our captains of industry and commerce to adopt and sponsor as many students as they can accommodate on their budgets. This should be more appealing now that our Education 5.0 is closely aligned to the requirements of places of real employment. Of course such support by the private sector may mean bonding terms for beneficiaries so sponsoring institutions benefit from their investments in human capital.

We believe in our students

My Government believes in our students. What I have seen during my tour of innovation hubs we have created at various universities fortifies this belief and faith in the inventive capacities of our

I WOULD like to implore responsible authorities to bring sanity on our roads.

The careless driving is getting out of hand. To the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, parliamentarians and police, I say please bring new laws, bring back the traffic offence ticketing system and deal with careless drivers.

I recently lost a brother in a car accident. We all know someone who has lost a life in the last 12 months due to reckless driving. A motor vehicle is now a dangerous weapon.

Our children are beginning to believe that reckless driving is the norm. Please can we have laws that are ruthless to traffic offenders.

Driving, especially in Harare, is now a suicide mission. There is no assurance that you will make it to work and back home in one piece. Please, let’s not allow this lawlessness.

To the Commissioner-General of Police, I say heavy fines and traffic offence ticketing will definitely bring order on our roads.

Let us act on this as soon as possible before other drivers start taking the law into their own hands.

Ndini Wenyu,

Engineer Jacob Kudzayi Mutisi.