Passing at some tertiary institutions in Zimbabwe is no longer based on merit, or a student’s demonstrated ability, as corruption spreads like a malignant cancer.
According to a report by Transparency International, Zimbabwe is among blacklisted nations where corruption thrives and the education sector cited has been identified as a “hotspot”.
NewsDay witnessed an incident in which a lecturer at a reputable college in the city openly solicited for a bribe from a student who had failed an exam, with the lecturer offering to change the mark upon receiving some money.
“Yes I marked your paper, but you failed. And you know what it means. You need to part with a few dollars. By the way, I have increased my rates to $25,” said the lecturer.
Students who spoke to NewsDay said the practice has become so normal continue they feel there is nothing wrong in bribing lecturers. “We are used to it. It is becoming impossible to pass without giving the lecturers a few dollars,” said an IT student in the city.
Some of the students said they pay to study leaked exam papers prior to writing. “At our college, lecturers are the ones who set the exams and some of them will actually come to us saying if we want to have a look at the paper before the exam, we should give them money,” said another student who only identified himself as Tatenda.
Corruption has cascaded to none-teaching staff, right down to security guards. Most colleges are manned by security guards whose job description includes ensuring students who have paid up their fees are allowed entrance into college premises.
However, some of the security personnel are now demanding an “entry fee” from students who have not paid up their fees.
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“Those students who have not paid their fees, but wish to attend lessons give me a $1 entrance fee, but if they are caught inside by authorities they will have to proffer their own explanations,” said one security guard who refused to be identified.
Students said it was difficult to collect their results if they had not paid fully, but people in the records office are aiding them after greasing their palms.
This year, a principal at a college in Damofalls, Ruwa, was arrested after he demanded cash to leak exams before attempting to rape a pupil. The polygamist headmaster conceded he had demanded money, but denied attempting to rape the minor.
However, many students interviewed said there was nothing wrong in what they were doing and many said given the chance they would continue bribing officials for favours.
One dictionary defines corruption as abuse of a position of trust in order to gain an undue advantage.
This involves the conduct of both sides; that of the person who abuses his position of trust as well as that of the person who seeks to gain an undue advantage by this abuse.
Corrupt practices can range from small favours in anticipation of a future advantage to the payment of large sums of money to senior members of governments.
According to research titled College Corruption – the Effects Now and Later, students who are involved in corrupt practices will likely repeat the same “feat” later in life.
The report noted that students who gain their professional qualifications using corrupt methods are likely to face challenges when dealing with “trained work experience and are likely to use corrupt methods to gain their way up the ladder”.
Veteran Educationist Lisbon Mhonda said the practice was likely to derail great strides made in the education system.
“Zimbabwean education system is held in high esteem, but if the government does not put a stop to corruption in these institutions, the country is likely to lose the goodwill it has enjoyed over the years,” said Mhonda.
He added that most of the practices were generated by poor remuneration of lecturers and teachers.
“I was in the education system for years, but we never witnessed mass corruption activities like what is happening today. The problem is that lecturers and teachers operate on empty pockets and now they see students as a source of revenue,” said Mhonda.
Pardon Taodzera, a sociology lecturer at one of the colleges in Harare, said the problem of corruption in tertiary institutions can only be addressed if the relevant authorities address the root cause.
“Lecturers do not want to be deviant in society because they are the role models, but sometimes they are forced by empty stomachs to engage in illicit dealings. The problems of bribing lecturers have only reached high levels in these recent years because the government has been neglecting professionals with families to feed,” said Taodzera.
Zimbabwe National Students’ Union president Pride Mukono has accused the parent ministry (Higher and Tertiary Education) of inefficiency, describing it as “impotent, corrupt, ineffective and archaic”.
Addressing a Press conference recently, Mukono accused the ministry of diverting money meant for loans and grants to “partisan” cadetship scheme in tertiary institutions.
