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Open
UZ halls of residence
Youth Forum
March 15, 2011
The sustained
closure of the halls of residence at the University
of Zimbabwe has caused untold suffering amongst the student
community. The hostels have been unilaterally closed since 2008
and this has left many students stranded, something that can result
in poor academic records and institutional output.
An investigation by Youth
Forum's Information Department revealed that students use
an average of US$2 a day for transport only. This is because they
have to commute into the Central Business District first before
they travel to Mount Pleasant, where the university is located,
add to this money for food and the daily expenses get out of reach
of many poor students. The few students who manage to get accommodation
in the surrounding areas are being outrageously overcharged. Many
students are missing lectures due to this immoral closure of the
halls of residence. Tafadzwa, a Second year Law student said he
takes turns to turn up at the campus with his friends and exchange
notes and involve in discussions at the weekend to catch up with
others.
Female students are the
worst hit by this crisis as they are taken advantage of by the affluent
of the city. A third year female Accounting student, who requested
anonymity for fear of victimization and stigmatization by fellow
students, confessed she got involved in two sexual relationships
in 2010 to supplement her studies. She was later diagnosed with
a Sexually Transmitted Disease she blames on these two relationships.
This stark reality flies in the face of this years' International
Women's Day Commemorations' whose theme was "Equal
Access to Education, Training and Science and Technology: Pathway
to Decent Work for Women".
What compounds the problem
is the fact that the closure of the hostels automatically leads
to the non-operation of the students' dining halls. Students
currently have to buy food from unscrupulous business people who
have no qualifications whatsoever in catering. It is only a matter
of time before a cholera outbreak is reported at the country's
oldest university; the food being sold is not only of substandard
but also prepared in environments whose hygienic standards only
God knows.
It is a prerequisite
of any institution of higher learning to provide academic studies
as well as an environment that is conducive for learning. The conditions
at the UZ cannot, by any stretch of imagination, be considered conducive
for serious learning.
The Youth Forum
is currently working with progressive students unions to ensure
that students of Zimbabwe learn in an environment that allows them
to become accomplished future leaders of the nation. The Zimbabwe
National Students' Union Secretary General Vivid Gwede,
in consultation with the Youth Forum and other liberal youth organizations,
made a presentation to the parliamentary portfolio responsible for
higher education on the state of the service and made solid recommendations
and we will keep monitoring progress.
Visit the Youth
Forum fact
sheet
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