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After a decade of a man made governance crisis in Zimbabwe, the nation has finally reached a transitional arrangement in the form of the power sharing agreement between the two formations of the Movement for Democratic (MDC) and the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU PF). The agreement brings hope to the suffering masses of Zimbabwe, hope that has been destroyed by a decade of economic meltdown, disrespect for the rule of law and the gross violation of human rights through state organized and state sponsored violence particularly sham June 27 2008 election.

As the nation gets into the transitional arrangement, this is the time for all stakeholders to look at one of the worst affected area in our community, the education sector. Unless something is urgently done to address the shameful conditions prevailing in the education sector then this new government shall be deemed a failure by students and the teaching staff.

The state of the nation's universities is deplorable to say the least. The opening of the University of Zimbabwe, the National University of Science and Technology, the Great Zimbabwe University, the Midlands State University for the first semester of the 2008 to 2009 academic year has been postponed for close to a month with University authorities clearly admitting that the conditions obtaining on the ground is not conducive for safe learning. They sight, and honestly so that just an average of 10% of the teaching staff is ready to deliver lectures to students with the other 90% having either left completely or not prepared to teach until their poor remuneration has been addressed.

Students are expected to pay ZW$48 000 for accommodation and tuition fees. Bindura University which has been opened the living conditions of students are pathetic. The two accommodation sites, the new site and the old site both can not meet the high demand for accommodation due to the ever increasing enrolment at the institution. The deficit in accommodation is forcing students to stay in the fairy cheap but overcrowded Chipadze high-density suburbs where an average of seven students is reportedly sharing a single room.

The nation's universities do not have water and electricity, the sanitary system is a clear health hazard. Recently the University of Zimbabwe made headlines when two deputy ministers commissioned the opening of boreholes at the institution of higher learning. The libraries in these Universities are stocked with very old textbooks which are no longer relevant to modern education. Efforts to bring modern internet technology on campuses have not yielded any meaningful results, with the bulk of University Students still computer illiterate because they do not have access to any computer piece.

The situation in Polytechnic and Teachers Colleges is no better. These colleges were successfully opened at the beginning of September. However, there is no learning going on as lecturers are not coming citing poor remuneration. Moreover the students are required to pay around ZW$14 000 for tuition, accommodation and food, a figure that is a mockery to the parents and guardians who are receiving paltry salaries from their jobs.

As if not enough, the food that is served in the college dinning halls is not suitable for human consumption. Water and electricity shortages are the order of the day. The story of the education system will not be complete without reference to the status of the primary and secondary education in Zimbabwe. Just a decade ago, Zimbabwe was celebrated the world over as one of the countries with the leading quality and quantities of those who receive such education.

However, following the governance crisis, the situation in the nation's schools has deteriorated to unacceptable levels. Rural schools are no longer accessible due to poor roads which badly need repair. More seriously, the tuition fees charged at primary school are too high in both rural and urban schools. Teachers are not reporting for duty or doing so but not executing their expected duties.

In the secondary education sector, particularly in boarding schools the school authorities in an attempt to cushion inflation are now asking students to bring their own groceries for use in the school kitchen. The tuition fees themselves are too high for the parents who are mainly civil servants and peasants.

This whole picture in the education sector has far reaching gender implications in the school and college communities of the nation. Female students are now being forced to resort to prostitution in light of the serious economic hardships. They are forced to get into relationships in which they have no power to negotiate safe sex therefore exposing them to risks like HIV and AIDS.

This is happening in the background of a country whose health delivery system has totally collapsed. All stakeholders in the education sector particularly students are looking forward to the new government impatiently but with a lot of hope. The historic agreement between ZANU PF and the two MDC formations though it falls short of the glory of democracy brings hope to the suffering masses of Zimbabwe. In fact that was the best route for Zimbabwe to take at this moment given the need for national healing. The government should therefore stand up to the challenges and expectations of Zimbabweans in general and students in particular by urgently allocating the ministries of education and higher education to competent and professional individuals, those who have an educational background.

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