THE Zimbabwe National Students’ Union (Zinasu) has petitioned Higher Education minister Jonathan Moyo demanding the scrapping of attachment fees for all students on industrial attachment.
by PAIDAMOYO MUZULU
Zinasu secretary-general Makomborero Haruzivishe also urged government to craft a law to force companies to pay basic subsistence allowances to students on industrial attachment as a form of appreciation and to cushion them against the harsh economic environment.
“We fully understand and are aware that students would be off campus and will not be using exclusive university/college materials, services and facilities. As such, we are sternly proposing the immediate scrapping of tuition fees for students on attachment for if the students do not have use for the services charged for in the tuition fees breakdown, then why pay?” Haruzivishe said.
He added: “They (students) are also perennial victims of modern-day slavery for companies are not obliged by the law to pay even basic subsistence allowances to these students. Some are forced to work in risky environments like deep mine shafts for the whole year for free only to be told at the end of the year that they cannot be assessed because they have failed to pay an unjustifiable and inflated tuition fee.
“The students said it is only fair that they should be paid a stipend considering the work they do in some organisations that lead to production.
“The Zimbabwe National Students’ Union is demanding that institutions and companies that employ students be obliged to pay basic livelihood salaries and also contribute to their tuition fees as a way of both payment and appreciation for the work students would be doing to contribute to the increased production for them.”
