As the strike over poor pay by University of Zimbabwe lecturers entered its 58th day on Tuesday, Members of Parliament demanded a ministerial statement from Higher and Tertiary Education Minister Frederick Shava.
Lawmakers accused Shava of routinely snubbing parliament as the crisis at the university continues to deepen.
Echoing these concerns in the National Assembly, Charles Moyo (CCC) described the situation at UZ as “chaotic” and a “sheer waste of time” for students.
Moyo alleged that dissertations are going unsupervised, exams are not being written, and even newly recruited adjunct lecturers were sometimes not turning up for work. Said Moyo:
Yesterday (Tuesday), there were demonstrations from the lecturers, yet other students are to go for attachments.
It seems this semester is a sheer waste of time for students as well as a loss to parents’ hard-earned money.
There is chaos and uncertainty at our institution. If it pleases you, Honourable Speaker Sir, I request the absent Minister of Higher Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development to come just once and give us a ministerial statement on the negotiations, deadlocks or practical interventions to bring normalcy to our tertiary institutions.
National Assembly Speaker Jacob Mudenda accepted the request and pledged to inform the responsible minister.
Tensions have escalated in recent days after the university withheld salaries from striking lecturers, a move widely seen as retaliation for their ongoing industrial action.
The lecturers are calling for a return to pre-2018 wage levels, demanding US$2,250 per month for junior staff, up sharply from the current US$230.
Obvious Vengeyi, spokesperson for the Association of University Teachers (AUT), condemned the decision, describing it as an attempt to intimidate lecturers into ending the strike. He said:
Of course, it is an act of trying to force our members to return to work for the US$230 they initially rejected. It’s a way of arm-twisting certain members of our community to resume teaching.
Many here who have not been paid have resolved that, whether they receive the US$230 or not, they will not return. Until junior lecturers get US$2,250, we will not go back to class.
He added that no teaching or academic supervision is currently taking place at the university.
While the University of Zimbabwe has remained officially silent on the strike, it has brought in adjunct lecturers to fill the gaps left by the striking staff.
More: ZimLive
Back to top