Staff Reporter
The High Court yesterday granted a temporary reprieve to the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) students that will allow them to continue paying last semester’s fees pending the court’s ruling on the urgent application made by the students.
Last week, UZ hiked fees by nearly 1000 percent and students responded by protesting the fees hikes and absconding from lectures.
The University later announced that it had heeded to the students’ pleas and came out with a payment plan for students to settle their fees obligations in instalments.
However, the students represented by Tendai Biti, challenged the fees hikes at the courts and demanded that the fees be reduced.
In a statement yesterday, UZ Students Representative Council (SRC) Secretary for Information and Publicity. Takunda Gift Ignatius Chinoda said that the High Court ruled that the students should keep paying last semester fees until 30 September 2022.
“This memo serves to inform the students of the University of Zimbabwe about the payment of fees following the case taken by UZ SRC and students to court challenging the recent exorbitant fees hike. On the 20th of September 2022, the respondent, (UZ Administration) and the applicant attended a High Court session.
“The Judge ruled out that the students should keep on paying last semester fees until 30 September 2022 while they wait for the court ruling that will be given in due course,” said Chinoda.
Chinoda added that the recent court ruling renders the recent fees hikes as null and void until the court ruling.
Meanwhile, students who spoke to this publication said that they welcomed the court ruling and have hope that the final ruling will be in favour of the students.
A law student at the University who preferred to be referred to as Paida, argued that the students were not against fees hikes but only want the fees adjustments to be commensurate with the earnings of the majority of their parents and guardians.
She added that the recent fees hikes were a subtle attack on the country’s education policy as education will eventually become a commodity for the elites.
