adminThe only question is who pays.
Some of the costs come from the taxpayer. The two education ministries absorb the largest share of the national budget, but despite these hundreds of millions, it is not nearly enough.
We have tried the experiment of very low university fees, coupled with inadequate grants from the State to make up the gap, and all that happened was that our universities came very close to collapse and lost much of their reputation.
The brightest and best of each graduating year, which normally should have provided the bulk of our future academics, either left the country or chose another career.
So universities have to charge realistic fees. Those at the State universities are lower than those at private universities because there are some grants, sums that look very large on paper but when divided among the costs and the salaries of staff, are clearly not enough.
So while State university fees can be lower, significantly lower, than those at private universities, they will be unaffordable to many.
Yet to limit university education to the children of the rich and middle classes is not just unfair, and it is very unfair, it is also a huge waste. Brains, dedication and the size of a father’s wallet are not obviously related. On the grounds of justice and of economic realities we need to ensure that our universities are filled with our best, regardless of whether they come from Borrowdale, Budiriro or Buhera.
Several decades ago two schemes ensured that many of those now running the country, running its business, staffing its universities, educating the next generation in its schools, designing its engineering and infrastructure, and generally making Zimbabwe a better place, could go to university.
One was a Government bonding programme; students applying were given a loan by the State which they paid off by working for the State on graduation, a year for each year of study. The other was a loan scheme run first, in colonial days, by the World University Programme and later, after independence, by Government.
Both schemes collapsed, largely through the arrogance of a majority of students who were helped. Those bonded would jump bond and those lent money would not pay it back.
After a lot of thought the present cadet scheme was introduced, at roughly the same time that we switched currencies. It allowed universities to charge more realistic fees and decided to take the plunge once again. Funding for the scheme was put in the budget.
Following a successful Singapore model, we set up a system whereby any Zimbabwean with adequate A-Levels could go on to tertiary education at very low personal cost. They still had to pay something, so long as they worked in Zimbabwe for a set number of years on graduation.
There are now 50 000 on the scheme, and the Finance Ministry has found a whole US$1 million of the far larger budget. US$20 a student does not go far and all universities and State colleges are owed very large sums, a total of US$100 million.
So they cannot take in these students until someone pays. Higher and Tertiary Education Minister Stan Mudenge is looking at loan schemes through commercial banks for next year, and that will help.
But not all disciplines produce graduates whose future income will be adequate to repay commercial loans in full, and we would guess that in any case the sums available will be too small, considering the problems facing our banks, and that Government guarantees will be required.
So even if some alternatives are found, we will still need the cadet scheme and we still are faced with promises already made.
The Finance Ministry needs to get its priorities sorted out. The scheme is not so much a running cost but an investment in our future, ensuring we have the people with the skills and education to create a decent future.
There is also the question of honour; the Government made promises in a budget created in the Finance Ministry.
And finally, there is the personal side. Many in that ministry, from Minister Tendai Biti down, were helped by someone to go to university.
In fact, the minister is one of the best examples of how a clever boy from a poor family can climb to near the top of two demanding ladders, legal and political, once someone helped at a critical point.
Other clever boys and girls need the same help.
We hope he fixes things fast.
Online Reporter