Some
universities are still waiting to be paid last year’s fees after the fund
failed to settle its debt while some students are alleged to have survived on a
poor and unhealthy diet last year as they did not receive their stipend and had
no money for food.
The
Presidential Scholarship Programme was founded in 1995 to give academically
gifted students from poor families a chance to study at university.
President
Robert Mugabe is the patron of the fund and the programme draws students from
each district from the country’s 10 provinces each year.
A
Fort Hare University student who spoke to The Star on condition of anonymity,
lest he was harassed as they were not allowed to speak to the media about this
issue, said they were barred from registering last year until the government
paid a quarter of the outstanding fees.
There
were reports that other institutions told the students not to return if their
debts were not settled, he said.
This
year, the fund paid their fees albeit not all of it - the stipend, transport
money or funds towards medical aid provision had not been paid, he said.
The
22-year-old student said students from poor families were the worst affected as
there was no one back home to send them money.
And
as they were living in another country with no relatives nearby to help, some
women had resorted to dating older men and lecturers to survive, he said.
Last
year, he said, they received a total of R900 for the whole year. They also did
not receive their transport money to go home for the June holidays. Regardless
of how bad things were, they couldn’t voice their displeasure by protesting, he
said.
“The
rules of the scholarship prevent us from protesting or you will lose it
indefinitely. If you don’t have anything to eat now, you just stick to a
friend.
“Those
that have families that can afford will help but the poor ones suffer,” he
said.
The
universities that are owed continue to hold talks with the administrators of
the fund over outstanding fees and have not barred the students who are still
owing from registering this year.
Jaco
van Schoor, deputy vice-chancellor of finance at the University of Johannesburg
(UJ), said they had about 450 students whose studies were financed by the fund.
Their
accounts, he said, were fully paid up except for last year’s fees.
“We
are in constant discussions with the relevant minister and we are positive that
we will collect all outstanding amounts like we did in previous years.
“In
line with UJ policies, applicable to South African and international students,
students with outstanding debt are not allowed to register for the following
academic year.
“We
did make an exception for students who are able to pay their 2014 fees and
allowed them to register although they had outstanding debt,” he said.
Wits
university is also owed fees from last year. Wits
spokeswoman Shirona Patel said almost 100 students supported by the fund were
studying at their institution.
“The
fund has supported Zimbabwean students at Wits since 2008 and has consistently
paid the university timeously.”
However,
she said, “there is still an outstanding amount for 2013”.
“The
university has made contact with the administrators of the fund, who have
advised that payment can be expected in the first week of March,” she said.
The
Star contacted Chris Mushowe, the Manicaland resident minister in Zimbabwe and
also the director of the presidential scholarship programme, for comment.
Mushowe
asked to be sent an SMS as he was at a noisy place - but failed to respond when
contacted again, even though someone answered Mushowe’s phone and said that he
would pass on the message.
In
February last year, a Zimbabwean radio station reported that the fund was
facing collapse following reports that the search for prospective beneficiaries
had not taken place for the second year in a row.
The
station could not get comment from Mushowe, who had admitted to local media
that they were facing financial constraints.
Tendai
Biti, the minister of finance, had reportedly refused to fund the private
scholarship (the Presidential Scholarship Programme), saying Mugabe should
mobilise resources to bankroll it.
Biti
had allegedly said the treasury could not continue to bankroll the
controversial scheme as it was Mugabe’s personal initiative. - The Star http://www.newsdzezimbabwe.co.uk/2014/02/suffering-continues-for-mugabe.html
No comments:
Post a Comment