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ZINASU Leadership meets parliament over Cadetship Scheme
Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) (Mugwadi)
March 22, 2010

The Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) met with the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Higher and Tertiary Education today the 22nd of March to register its dismay over the way the Cadetship Scheme is being implemented by college authorities and also to deliberate on how the scheme can be amended to suit the circumstances of the majority of the students.

The President Tafadzwa 'Tuboy' Mugwadi headed the ZINASU delegation which comprised of Vice President Obert Masaraure and the Spokesperson; Kudakwashe Chakabva.

ZINASU told the Committee that while it acknowledges the urgent need to fund higher and tertiary education and the students in particular, the cadetship scheme as the current government blueprint requires to be reformed and reviewed as a measure towards arresting the disadvantages it poses on the students' beneficiaries. ZINASU has always stood for the Revolving Loan and Grant scheme based on the fundamental principle that it is the primary obligation of a responsible government to fund tertiary education.

The delegation also made it clear to the committee that the scheme was not sincerely and faithfully put in place by the policy makers who took advantage of the desperate situation of the students in the face of restrictive tuition fees and other associated problems. The committee was therefore called upon to work towards reviewing the scheme, taking note of the following;

(a) That the programme should not be discriminatory against students' activists especially from ZINASU as the recommendation process is done by usually hostile Deans of Students.

(b) That all students must benefit from the services of colleges such as uninterrupted access to the library, notwithstanding that they have paid or not

(c) That the scheme should be flexible in terms of mechanisms of paying back to the government instead of forcing students to work for the government only

(d) That the scheme should also cater for other contingent costs incurred by students hence there should be some amount which students can withdraw for such use

The ZINASU leadership also reminded the committee that the scheme should not be viewed in isolation as it depends on other variables such as the provision of accommodation for students and upgrading of our research tools so that the ultimate goals of the scheme can be realized. Lack of accommodation at various tertiary institutions especially at the UZ has crippled studies as students can hardly afford the transport costs to and from campuses.

Pursuant to the Congress resolution chapter 5(a) ZINASU warned the committee that the Ministry of higher and tertiary education and Honorable Mudenge should take Union leaders seriously and open avenues of engagement with the students by actively involving them in the policy making process especially those policies that impact on the students and their learning environment.

ZINASU will make a close follow up of today's engagement and hope that remedial decisions will be taken to address the plight of the students.

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