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30 years after Independence, ZINASU mourns the Education Crisis in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) (Mugwadi)
April 16, 2010

The Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) President on behalf of all students of Zimbabwe would like to join the people of Zimbabwe and the whole of Africa in celebrating the 30th Anniversary marking the country's independence from colonial rule on the 18th of April 1980.

The celebrations of this historic achievement of the nation's birthday courtesy of the spirit of selfless sacrifice on the part of the departed cadres of the liberation struggle and the living takes place at a time when the students are mourning the demise of the once vibrant education system in the country. The students in Zimbabwe continue to face multifaceted serious challenges that manifests in astronomical and restrictive tuition fees, brutality against students activists incessant closure of halls of residence by the UZ authorities, the refusal by the University of Zimbabwe authorities to allow the students to sit for end of semester examinations, the arbitrary suspensions and expulsion of students' leaders, indefinite disbandment of Students Representative Council (SRC) elections at Harare Polytechnic, MSU and UZ and the general deterioration of the state of the whole sector.

The celebrations are also taking place at a time when the majority of the students at the University of Zimbabwe have been endangered of their future by being barred to sit for their end of semester examinations by the brutal and ruthless policies of the notorious Vice Chancellor Levy Nyagura- total denial of one of the pillars of the struggle for independence, 'the right to education.'

ZINASU is saddened by the reality that the government of Zimbabwe across board is full of figures, most of whom received education during the colonial era, with the self acclaimed Chancellor of all state Universities boasting of degrees acquired while in prison but today, in 21st century Zimbabwe, innocent intellectual souls face an oblique future because of the capitalist policies of the state which have sentenced the sons and daughters of the poor masses to a failed future.

While the lowering of the Union Jack was a historic achievement of the 20th century generation of our leaders, the demise in the education sector in the country owing to unfriendly and anti poor policies of the inclusive government as a whole is evident undermine the efforts of our true heroes and their aspirations.

The celebrations also come in the work of a stage-managed but doomed parliamentary driven process of constitutional reform which has undermined the students and workers' call for a genuine people driven constitution reform process that underpins fundamental human rights, particularly the right to education. ZINASU will reject any outcome of this default process as it cannot be trusted as a guarantor of the right to education.

ZINASU therefore calls upon the Government of Zimbabwe to take the students seriously and shun the colonial supremacist discriminatory policies that have disadvantaged the majority of our poor students. Mudenge should be reminded that education is a right and not a privilege.

Lastly, ZINASU calls for the celebrations to be above political antics and urge ZANUPF to shun its retrogressive and divisive tendency at such national events because the struggle for independence was not fought by ZANUPF sympathizers alone for ZANU-PF as a party but for all the people of Zimbabwe.

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