STUDENTS PROTEST IN RESPONSE TO COLLEGE TUITION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 000227 SIPDIS SIPDIS AF/S FOR B. NEULING SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/24/2015 TAGS: ASEC PGOV PHUM SOCI PREL ZI SUBJECT: STUDENTS PROTEST IN RESPONSE TO COLLEGE TUITION HIKES REF: HARARE 177 Classified By: Ambassador Christopher Dell for reasons 1.5 b/d -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) Massive tuition increases at state colleges have triggered student unrest as the academic year resumes this month. The GOZ announced in early February that tuition for the coming year would jump from between Z$6 and Z$9 million to between Z$30 and Z$45 million. Upset that scholarships were not increased accordingly, at least 200 students demonstrated on February 15 at Bulawayo,s National University of Science and Technology (NUST),causing damage to one university building. Police arrested and quickly released 22 students at NUST and 15 students at a later demonstration at Masvingo Polytechnic. At the University of Zimbabwe (UZ),a professor tells us that student leaders are planning more demonstrations once classes resume next week. End summary. -------------- Massive School Fee Hike -------------- ¶2. (U) Reflecting the ever-increasing cost of living in Zimbabwe, the government on February 6 announced that tuition and related fees at state colleges would increase as much as 500 percent this academic term. Tuition at UZ for arts and humanities students was increased from Z$6 million to Z$30 million per year, while tuition for medical and veterinary students rose from Z$9 million to Z$45 million. Fees for room and board were increased also; meals, for instance, went from Z$1.5 million per semester to Z$21 million. Totaling the bill, a medical student who lives on campus must pay Z$93 million for the current year (equivalent to US$940 at the official rate or US$490 at the parallel rate of Z$190,000:US$). ¶3. (U) Scholarships and student loans, however, were increased at a far lower rate, pushing local university education out of the reach of many. Student can hope for financial assistance of only between Z$11.4 and Z$17.5 million (equivalent to US$115 and US$176, respectively, at the official rate). For the bulk of UZ students who come from poorer backgrounds, the conventional wisdom that a term,s fee once equated to one cow no longer applies; now it will take at least six head of cattle to get through a semester. UZ political science professor John Makumbe told poloff on February 21 that enrollment was therefore dramatically reduced; with only days left to enroll, about 50 social studies students had registered as compared with about 1,000 normally. In the law faculty, Dean Emmanuel Magade told poloff on February 23 that only 30 students had registered, as opposed to about 700 normally. ¶4. (C) Elinor Burkett, a Fulbright scholar at NUST, told Post that students there who had not paid their fees by March 27 would not be permitted to attend class. She estimated that only about 10 percent of students could raise the necessary funds. Unable to raise revenue through tuition, Burkett said the university would likely be unable to cover the salaries of lecturers. (N.B. NUST received a budget of only Z$49 billion this year, having asked for about Z$540 billion.) -------------- Prompts Wave of Student Activism -------------- ¶5. (C) The climbing costs of education have fueled unrest on campuses as students return from holidays. At least 200 students at NUST demonstrated on February 15 against the new fees and demanded a meeting with Vice Chancellor Lindela Ndlovu, according to Burkett. Ndlovu, however, refused to talk to the students and campus security descended on the demonstrators, reportedly beating up one of the leaders. The students responded by rioting and breaking the windows of an administrative building. According to Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, a core group of 22 were to be charged with malicious injury to property and public violence. ¶6. (U) Students at other universities have taken up the campaign against the new fees. On February 16 thousands of students at the UZ Medical School and at Bulawayo Polytechnic boycotted classes over the hikes, according to accounts in the independent press. Student demonstrations then spread to Masvingo Polytechnic on February 21 where students marched on the campus to protest the new fees. According to press accounts, police riot squads disbursed the demonstrators and briefly detained 15 students. ¶7. (C) The Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) has called on students to take to the streets and has begun addressing colleges nationwide with the message &we can,t pay, won,t pay.8 Professor Makumbe told poloff that ZINASU was planning a demonstration at UZ on February 27 to coincide with the resumption of classes. According to the usually fiery Makumbe, the students were highly organized and were determined not &to duck the bullets.8 Makumbe said the demonstrating students would also highlight other economic problems ) such as joblessness - and speculated that the activism could snowball to other groups nationwide. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶8. (C) After recent years of dormancy and infiltration by the security services, the students appear to be regaining their radicalism of several years ago. Between 2000 and 2002, demonstrations and even riots where commonplace at UZ and, to a lesser extent, NUST, leading to violent suppression by police and frequent closures that delayed graduation for many by one to two years. However, with the graduation of student activists such as Raymond Majongwe and Nelson Chamisa, the ZINASU became thoroughly penetrated by the GOZ and started to be viewed with increasing skepticism by the student body. The recent fee hikes, however, have combined with the ever-crumbling economy to produce a potentially volatile mixture. This is especially true for poorer families, who lack the opportunity to send their children abroad and are faced with a deteriorating domestic education system that comes at an ever-higher price. Nonetheless, adding to the surrealist quality of Zimbabwe these days, Mugabe singled out the Education Ministry for special praise for &sustaining the education system8 during his birthday interview that aired on Sunday. ¶9. (C) It Remains to be seen whether the students, plight will resonate with the general population. Although the Morgan Tsvangirai-aligned MDC National Youth Council has condemned the new fee structure and ZINASU has reportedly reached out to some key NGOs, civil society has to date been largely silent on the issue. Much will depend on how effective the students are, among themselves and with the wider population, at articulating the connections between their personal economic predicament, the country,s general economic decline, and the ruling party,s economic mismanagement. The arrest of 300 WOZA activists last week (reftel) and 105 NCA activists at two demonstrations this week (all but the 62 NCA activists arrested on Thursday have since been released) demonstrate that broader dissatisfaction exists, but it far has yet to spur any concerted form of wide-scale civil resistance. There is fertile ground for rallying Zimbabweans against the economic decline of recent years, but the strength of students, determination to postpone or even derail their studies for the sake of activism remains to be tested ) especially given that a college degree is one,s surest way out of Zimbabwe and to a better future. DELL