adminand threatened to smash window panes after they were barred from sitting for the end of semester examinations because of late registration.
MSU charges between $950 and $1 000 per student per semester, depending on one’s degree programme.
Scores of students, among them final year students, who were barred from sitting the examinations, thronged Chronicle offices in Gweru yesterday to express their displeasure with the institution.
The students had earlier staged a demonstration at the institution.
Sources told Chronicle yesterday that the university’s security personnel had to disperse the demonstrating students, who had thronged the multi-purpose hall (the examinations venue), attacking them with batons.
“The university’s first exams, which were supposed to start at 8am were disrupted for close to an hour as the students and security personnel were involved in running battles,” said the source.
The sources said the security personnel, armed with batons only were at one point forced to retreat back into the examination rooms after being pelted with stones by some angry students.
“The chief security officer had to call the police to beef up security after some of the students turned violent,” said the source.
A group of about 20 students, which visited Chronicle offices in Gweru had bruises, which they alleged were sustained from the assaults they received from the university’s security personnel.
The students said almost half of the university student population was barred from writing their end of year examinations.
“What is happening at the MSU is totally unfair and we don’t think even the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education would condone such action. Almost half of the students have been barred from writing exams and you can imagine how painful it is after spending the whole semester preparing for exams,” said a female student, almost in tears.
The students said some of them were paid up and did not owe the university any fees. “Some of us are paid up students but the assistant registrar, Mr Taguta is insisting that the university had closed registration when we paid the fees. What they seem to forget is the fact that we depend on our parents for our fees and they struggle to raise the money,” fumed one male student who said he was in his final year.
The students said some of them were also doing programmes, which had since been phased out by the university.
“I am doing History and Development Studies and we are the last group doing this programme after the university later split the course into two degree programmes, Pure History and Development Studies. It means therefore missing the exam will be tantamount to us failing to complete the programme for good,” said the devastated student.
Contacted for comment, the university’s acting public relations director, Ms Sinikiwe Tirivanhu, confirmed that students who did not meet the institution’s registration deadline were barred from writing their end of semester examinations.
She, however, declined to give further details and referred this reporter to the university’s registrar, Mr Erasmus Mpfiga, for further comment.
“The position is that registered students are the only students allowed to sit for exams. This is to avoid sitting arrangement inconveniences. The university had two deadlines for the registration and all the deadline dates were published in the Press.
You can, however, get in touch with Mr Mpfiga for further details,” she said.
Repeated efforts to get in touch with Mr Mpfiga were fruitless as his mobile phone was not reachable.
Online Reporter