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Herald Correspondent

Negotiations to find an amicable solution to the University of Zimbabwe fees increase are ongoing, with the Students Representative Council (SRC) confirming the development yesterday.

UZ Vice Chancellor Professor Paul Mapfumo told The Herald about the negotiations on Monday, after students asked their representatives to engage the university leadership.

According to the new fees structure, undergraduate students are required to pay anything between $300 000 and $500 000 depending on their faculty, up from between $51 088 and $60 000. 

In a statement yesterday, the SRC said: “Having approached and convinced the relevant authorities, it was agreed that the fee hikes needed to be reviewed as a matter of urgency.

“The SRC further extends gratitude to students who entrusted the student leadership with the duty to resolve the fee hikes issue amicably, without the disruption of lectures

“Unfortunately, there is an attempt by some political and civil society groups to hijack the students’ plight towards selfish political gains, but students have remained resolute and continued with studies, maintaining a peaceful environment.”

The SRC urged students to continue with their studies, including those that have not paid fees in full, as no one would be denied access to the university for non-payment.

UZ acting registrar Dr Munyaradzi Madambi yesterday said the fees increase was informed by the high cost associated with running tertiary education.

“It is very expensive to run university education, it comes with many costs,” he said, adding that those that have set up tertiary institutions and did not have viable fees structures have folded.

Dr Madambi said the university revision committee, which includes students, met on August 18, and deliberated on the fees that students were paying and it was proposed that a 30 percent increase be effected on the previous semester’s fees.

He said the UZ pays for ICT journals, high-speed internet which is a must at tertiary institutions, water and consumables, among others, “and these do not come cheap”. 

He said students in the faculty of humanities pay an equivalent of US$466, natural sciences US$526 and life sciences US$661.

But Dr Madambi said there was not much need for students to complain over the fees as the UZ has “very flexible payment terms such as payment plans”, with no one barred from attending classes or exams for not paying full fees.