Students at the Lupane State University (LSU) are up in arms with authorities at the institution following a steep tuition fee hike in United States dollars,
The Zimbabwe Congress of Students Union (Zicosu) Matabeleland North council urged students to boycott lessons to force LSU to slash the fees.
Universities were given the go- ahead to peg their fees in United States dollars with an option of paying in local currency at the interbank rate.
ZICOSU secretary general for Matabeleland North, Mthulisi Nkala, said the new fees were beyond reach and an assault on their right to education.
"This is also against the ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education which approved the pegging of fees in US dollars with these to be payable at the prevailing interbank rate of the day as the government policy,” Nkala said.
"The committee was reliably informed of the protests which were supposed to take place on their arrival at the main campus which has raised concerns given the sensitive time we are in as a country and has urged students to stay at home."
The ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education said the fees were justified to ensure the provision of quality education among others.
“Some institutions are still working on the process internally and are yet to submit their proposals,” Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Fanuel Tagwira, said.
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“What we have agreed is that fees should be pegged in USD but payable in any other currency.”
ZICOSU provincial secretary for finance, Lulamile Nyathi, however said the fees were not justified.
“We will do this stay-away until the administration comes to the negotiation table and the outcomes are satisfactory to us,” Nyathi said.
The students are supposed to pay fees ranging from US$341 to US$400 for undergraduate studies or $1.5million to $2 milliion in local currency.
