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Harare students protest outside Mugabe's offices
Henry Makiwa, SW Radio Africa
October 31, 2007

More than 500 students from Harare's institutions of higher learning on Tuesday held a demonstration outside Robert Mugabe's offices in protest at the decay of education standards in the country.

Students from state-run colleges took to the streets of Harare with a petition addressed to the Minister of Higher & Tertiary Education, Stan Mudenge, expressing displeasure over the deterioration of the education delivery system. Most of the students came from the University of Zimbabwe and Chitungwiza's Seke College.

According to witnesses students marched along the capital's streets singing and chanting student revolutionary songs and slogans, before riot police dispersed them when they reached Monomutapa offices. No arrests were made but the police confiscated the petition and Zimbabwe National Students Union (Zinasu) banners.

Zinasu spokesperson Dominic Shumba said: "The students have vowed to continue expressing their grievances through all means possible until a state of normalcy is realised in all institutions of higher learning.

"The students' unrest emanates from the continued lack of delivery on the part of the lecturers who have been on a continuous go slow since the semester began. This has compromised the delivery of an effective education system. Due to a combination of the unavailability of adequate teaching staff, poor and inadequate learning materials, prohibitive tuition fees and the unavailability of decent and adequate accommodation institutions have been producing half baked graduates."

Elsewhere Eston Farayi, the President of Masvingo Polytechnic Students executive council (SEC), was picked up last night by police from the law and order section in connection with a demonstration at Masvingo Polytechnic early this month, when students launched the "Free Edison Hltsthawayo Campaign".

Student leader Hltsthawayo spent a month in custody on charges of violent conduct.

The arrest of Farayi brings the total number of students' arrests in Masvingo to thirty for the month of October. There are concerns that Farayi is likely to miss the end of year examinations that are currently underway at the college.

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