adminpolitics, industry and commerce came through this institution.
Its role in producing Zimbabwe’s human capital is unchallenged, even though the other state universities that have come through in recent years have themselves achieved amazingly high standards, notably the National University of Science and Technology and the Midlands State University.
UZ, however, remains the first choice for most students and they are disappointed if they are not accepted.
As a result the enrolment numbers have swollen over the years, putting pressure on the ageing infrastructure.
For many years now the university cannot cope with demand for accommodation in the halls of residence and now generally gives preference to first year students, mostly those coming from out of Harare.
Still there are challenges as the halls of residence had deteriorated to unacceptable levels.
Now we are told the renovations have been done to high levels and those fortunate enough to get accommodation there would be happy with the standards.
Only one problem remains – erratic water supplies. With less than a week to go before the UZ re-opens, there is still no assurance that water would be available.
According to Higher and Tertiary Education Minister Stan Mudenge the matter has had to be discussed in Cabinet and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara has been assigned to chair a Cabinet committee to ensure that water would be available before the university opens.
We find it strange that it will take a Cabinet committee to deliver water to UZ. Questions must be raised about the Harare City Council’s attitude to service delivery.
Everyone knows the strategic role the university plays and we don’t see why it should be an impossible task to pump water into the university’s reservoir to ensure a constant supply.
The university has done well to invest in a big reservoir that can hold enough water to last three days, which means as long as it is filled the university can manage even if there are water cuts.
But Mayor Muchadeyi Masunda and his councillors cannot push their officials to simply fill up the reservoir every week.
The Zimbabwe National Water Authority also has a role to play in supporting such an important institution. Boreholes have been drilled before but pumping could be a challenge, given that they would be pumping uphill.
Ideally, an institution as big as the UZ, should not be talking about water problems had the necessary investment been made.
The corporate sector needs to ask itself a lot of questions about its contribution to the state of the University of Zimbabwe and the many polytechnics scattered around the country.
Most of the facilities in these institutions have collapsed, yet the corporate sector feeds from these institutions in terms of human resources.
Most of the decline has taken place in the last decade when the Zimbabwean economy was under siege from the country’s Western detractors.
Government has found itself unable to put as much money as is needed into higher and tertiary education.
Most of the donors pulled out for political reasons and the corporate world did not move in to fill in that gap.
Perhaps this is because the leaders of the corporate sector, just like the politicians, are able to send their children to foreign universities at very high costs. As result they watch with indifference as the local institutions that nurtured them collapse.
The same is happening to the high schools that produced today’s leaders. They are a pale shadow of the once great schools.
Yet there is a lot that we can do as Zimbabweans to rebuild our educational and health institutions without foreign support.
We just need to value these institutions. If we value them we will prioritise funding them and be willing to sacrifice luxuries to maintain high standards.
Now that DPM Mutambara, himself a former fiery student leader at UZ is chairing the Cabinet taskforce on the water situation, we should see a bit of action around the campus.
We hope the committee will go further than looking at water and explore ways of mobilising resources for the university’s other programmes and projects.
We have previously pointed out that the State universities are being hamstrung by failure by the Government to honour some of its financial obligations such as the fees for students who are on the cadetship programme.
The universities and colleges could do a lot more if they were paid what they are owed.
Cabinet must remain seized with the state of our universities and colleges for a while until there is real change.
Online Reporter
dyton mupawaenda