The University of Zimbabwe unceremoniously increased the fees a few days before the start of the semester scheduled for the 21^st of March.

The protest was scheduled to start at 11 am but the police officers were already on the UZ premises by 6 am. As soon as the students came out of their hostels waving placards and chanting slogans, the police made their move and arrested them.

A political science student said to New Zimbabwe;

“The moment some students started to demonstrate at UZ around 11 am today the riot police was already there so they arrested them and from there they were taken to the security department.”

The arrested students were taken to Avondale police station. The university students had been complaining about various social media platforms about the fees increase. Given the economic situation in the country, many of them feel it is unfair for the university to increase its fees by 100% and expect them to pay it up within the next few days.

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According to the tweet by Joseph Nyamayaro, the fees were pegged at 22k and have been increased to 54k.

The university announced on their social media pages that the new semester will commence on Monday the 21str of March up to Friday the 1^st of July 2022. The university also encouraged students to pay the fees as reflected on their fees portals “pending the gazetting of the new fees ordinance.”

Many students have complained as they feel that the hike has been drastic and at the last minute. The 21^st is in a few days and the university expects students to be paid up by then. It is no secret that parents are struggling to pay fees because of the unstable economy in Zimbabwe.

In a stable economy, public education should be free and as the fees continue to increase every semester, there is no sign of free education on the horizon. The standards of the university are declining as well. Back in the day graduates from UZ were recognized in Africa and beyond but now the credibility is not the same as before. People are opting to send their children out of the country or have them study with foreign boards like UNISA.

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