Grants delay looming, educational funding future oblique

Click link to read  GrantsMonitor

Only a few days after the allocation of funds for students’ grants and loans by the ministry of finance, there are shocking revelations by the ministry of higher and tertiary education that the materialization of these funds may once again be a nightmare for the thousands of suffering students in tertiary institutions around the country. Presenting a report in parliament, the parliamentary portfolio committee on higher and tertiary education and science and technology made indications that there could be some “challenges” that could either delay the actualization of grants and loans, or deter their realization, slowly sprinkling freezing water on our educational funding future.

The committee indicted that it was concerned that the grant and loan scheme will be financed by diamonds revenue,  meaning that it could only be operationalised upon the receipt of the revenue which would then mean “there will be” a time lag before students have access to these funds. It also indicated concern over the sustainability of the private banks student loan scheme, citing, as expected the issue of collateral security, interest rate and repayment period and obviously the subsequent high unemployment rates which would delay the servicing of the loans, failure of which would lead to the collapse of the system as the funds must revolve.

These revelations are such sad news, grossly insulting and unacceptable to us and all indications are that our Christmas present from the minister of finance is being ambushed and may subsequently be hijacked.  

With 25.1% of the budget (US$1,003,496,000) having been channeled to education and US$296,171,000 (30%) of this amount being allocated to the ministry of higher and tertiary education (as per the recommended 2:1 ratio distribution between lower and higher education), the sheer determination of the ministry of finance and the minister Hon T.Biti, a former student and student leader himself, to redeem the education sector cannot be doubted by any sane man. The responsibility for pro-student policy coining and actualization, lying with the minister of higher and tertiary education Mudenge, now seems to be slithering away from the expected immediate redemption of the suffering students and this presents a challenge to us to take it upon ourselves to defend our academic future and freedoms.

Confronted with the broader realities that are consequent of the prime challenge of  student funding and support, the ministry of higher and tertiary’s  2012 budget policies should largely focus on lobbying for increased student support instead of exactly the opposite as indicated by the retrogressive policy discourse that the ministry is taking. The continued unpopular debate by the ministry of higher and tertiary education that the Student  grant and loan scheme will compete with the unpopular and partisan cadetship scheme should by now be a sealed chapter as the students have unequivocally stated their dislike of the later which has numerous unfavorable strings attached to it. The ministry wants to repeat the old trick of yesteryear of channeling the grants destined funds to the cadetship scheme, indicating that institutions are being owed US$24 851 610, and that “….it would be impossible to consider the Grants and loans scheme if the funds available are inadequate to cater for the existing debts”, which is such a severe insult to the suffering masses of students in tertiary institutions eagerly anticipating access to the grants and loans.

There are indications of a 45% increase in employment cost which implies an increase in salaries and wages for staff at tertiary institutions, which have been charging exorbitant fees in efforts to cater for these employment costs, and our expectation is that this should translate to significant lessoning of fees burdens on students, which would also make the funding efforts notable to some extent.

  The failure by tertiary institutions to adhere to rational expenditure patterns that are in phase with the economic recovery pace continues to be an unchecked area and the ministry seems so dump about it, corroborating, condoning and perpetuating the unfavorable commercialization of education at public tertiary institution.

Prioritisation in expenditure remains crucial at such a time when our economy is struggling for revival in this highly politically charged environment. Student financial support and funding should be prioritized and funds should be immediately availed, with other less priority areas then earmarking the “diamond revenue” that some people want us to believe “takes time”.  That we the students be played pony at the expense of our careers in broader political gaming between ministries is regrettable and will be safeguarded against. We would also like to call upon these various ministries to sincerely conduct themselves in manners that contribute to the betterment of peoples’ lives ahead of continuously serving and oiling their narrow self interest. What then are they doing in government if they are not there for us?

Students are thus being called to defend a great opportunity that is under siege. We demand that grants be available for undemanding access by the 7^th of January when the first tertiary institution opens its doors for the new semester of 2012.

 Lets stand up en mass to hamper, vigilantly thwart and unequivocally frustrate any evil machination to dampen our careers and future. It is our generational mandate to demand and defend our rights; we demand access to our grants without any further delay; the inception of a robust and clear funding framework that draws from the realities of our social status and also from regional and international best practices(there is the fundisa scheme in SA ,NSFAS,NFF to learn from); loan conditions that suit all deserving students; access based on merit not nepotism and gross discrimination of any form. Demanding the accordance of our academic freedoms and opportunity to realize our dreams is what our blood is worth. We demand a robust funding framework that  enhances access and equity. Currently levels of  access and equity are unacceptable. Moreover, access is highly inequitable in terms of gender, location and socio-economic status. We demand a policy that acts to address this twin challenge of access and equity.

Meanwhile, Zinasu Bulawayo is in the process of engaging other regions  on the need to craft a national students charter, which would be, among other things(as our country transitions-hopefully to democracy): a  blueprint for policies and laws determining the future of education and skills development in the country; an operational document from which the stakeholders can draw; an advocacy tool, for evidence based advocacy and lobbying; cornerstone of values and principles to guide the policy and programming of stakeholders; binding agreement to which all stakeholders can be accountable; and would also like to call upon other stakeholders, and leaders- former student and beyond to sincerely, fearlessly play  critical part in the broader effort to redeem our higher education system and liberate the tertiary student. There needs to be a greater recognition on the part of  policy makers of the growing importance of higher education for development in its broadest terms (that is, economic, environmental and social). Recognition of the increasing importance of higher education in the development of our country  will lead to greater attention being paid to how higher education can and should be financed.

Frantic efforts are also underway to resolve the various internal national institutional challenges- most of which have been emanating from the unfortunate separation of political power and leadership responsibilities  resulting in unfortunate false alertism and alarmism, misappropriation of resources, regrettable name calling and subjective personal attacks  that lacked content and substance as far as addressing student issues is concerned, which should find no place in  our progressive union and restore lasting sanity once and for all as we struggle for academic freedoms and the emancipation of the student of Zimbabwe. Let us not lose faith in our own institution and capacities.

It is not just that we can, but we will and we WILL.

Grants, payouts or War!!!

 Grants, payouts or War!!!

Click here to read the The Bulawayo Students Voice Vol2 November 2011 with a focus on grants, loans , the budget and our academic future in 2012

The efforts by the finance minister to ease the funding crisis in the higher and tertiary education and address the joint plight of the struggling students and guardians are quiet commendable and come at time when the majority of students are reeling under multiple scorching challenges prime being the torturous fees regime at institutions of higher learning . Announcing the 2012 national budget statement, Hon Tendai Laxton Biti , a former student and student leader himself,  allocated USD25 million towards the grant system(payouts) with Barclays and ZB banks availing USD20 million and USD10 million respectively for the students loan facility, which also presents a challenge to other players in the corporate world to play their part in revamping our education system as it is their primary source of human capital. Grants will go a long way in addressing most challenges as they emanate from funding and finance deficits and inadequacies.

Disturbing however is the non-repentant reluctance  of  the ministry charged with the actualization, the wrapping and delivering of this Christmas present, the ministry of higher and tertiary education which  has failed to avail for access the 15 million allocated in the previous budget towards the grant system, grudgingly holding on to the cadetshit scheme- which is extremely and unimaginably partisan with suicidal strings attached to it. It is with this background that the students would like to unequivocally caution the ministry to desist from unnecessary gambling with young people’s careers and urgently avail these funds for accessibility to students. It is our greatest demand and untradeable hope that these funds are ready for easy access as early as 7 January 2012 when the first tertiary institution opens its doors for the new semester, failure of which is tantamount to provocation and declaration of war against us, of which they should be rest assured we will fight to the end – all our eyes and arrows are on Mudenge .

USD52.7 million has been allocated towards infrastructure development at higher and tertiary education institutions with Bulawayo getting an elephant share, USD 7,7 million going towards the construction of  the  faculty of Agriculture at Lupane State University, and 7.5 million towards the completion of the NUST central library where construction had been paused for close to a decade. We demand  that the allocation towards infrastructure development be timeously utilized to easy the accommodation problems at the various institution as the current status is far from being acceptable, NUST halls can only accommodate 104 students out of an enrollment of over 7000, UZ ones taking 4287 out of over 10000 and MSU taking 200 out of over 9000 students. The perennial tendencies by various university and college authorities to embezzle monies meant for such progressive project is this time under serious check and they should also be rest assured of war, protracted if they so wish. 

We also demand that the plight of female students, who have several special needs be urgently addressed as inadequacies expose them to unfortunate vulnerabilities most of which have far reaching and irreversible consequences- disease, sexual abuse, exploitation among others. These young women should also benefit directly or indirectly from funds such as the Women’s fund over and above a gender sensitive grants disbursement and loan accessibility framework.

Commendable is also the allocation of USD 2million manpower development fund and USD 20 million for the Jobs Fund, which is also a progressive scheme as far as skills acquisition and human development is concerned-.

The minister is also making great efforts to abide by the Dakar framework of 2000 for action on Education for all which requires that government allocates 12% of the total government expenditure to education, with his budget allocation standing at 23% in 2011 and 25% estimate in 2012, that is USD1,003.2 million (i.e. slightly over a billion), which should inspire all the other parties, state and non state to conduct themselves  in such manners  that aid the actualization and realization of several charters and declarations: the  African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights  Article 17: Every individual shall have the right to education; The Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 26: (1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and  professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit; The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child Article (11)  3.(c) that  higher education be made accessible to all on the basis of capacity and ability by every appropriate means and  (e) that special measures be taken in respect of female, gifted and disadvantaged children, to ensure equal access to education for all sections of the community, among other instruments. We also demand the constitutionalisation of the right to education, the revolutionarisation of the university acts and the absolute repeal of the draconic ordinance 30, posa etc which are evil blockades to the enjoyment of critical academic freedoms in this modern world where democratization struggles are widespread   .

The issue of prioritization remains a gray area in this country which is cursed with some leaders who have protracted histories of self enrichment and plunder, corruption, non-empathetic misappropriation of public resources. Of great concern is the high traveling expenditure for government with 1,2% of the budget between January and September being swallowed by globetrotting. It is of great concern that some people in government, especially our chancellor who enjoys unnecessary globetrotting and we would like to urge him to be patriotic enough to enjoy being home. The unnecessary and exorbitant expenditure in sending a handful young people to foreign institutions under the guise of “presidential scholarship” at the expense thousands sons and daughters of peasantified poverty stricken citizens should cease forthwith. Giving first preference to our own institutions would raise them to standards beyond most of these envied institutions; just imagine a completely constructed NUST….and Bona being capped there.

We will courageously take justifiable persuasive actions in pursuit of amicable addressing of our justified demands. It is not only that we can, but we will and we will.

Cde Joram Chikwadze is Zinasu Byo Chairman