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A proposal to reduce government grants to university and college students by 50 percent was going to make tertiary education costlier, thus limiting access to it by more people. In June, the government announced that the grants given to State universities would be reduced by 30 percent before it was widened to 50 percent.

Students or their parents and guardians pay at least $500 per semester for university and college education. Many are struggling. If the grant reduction proposal had been effected on August 1 as originally planned, students were going to be forced to pay up to $1,200 in fees per semester. To many, this was to be a not-so-polite way by the government to its people to simply quit their studies for those already at university and, for aspiring ones, to not dream of college education again.

Ordinary Zimbabweans have enough challenges already and to worsen the burden in the way that had been proposed, while appropriate in the context of government efforts to reduce its expenditure, was to cause untold emotional and social turmoil. It was going to make advanced education an endeavour for the rich. The poor were to be condemned to a life of ignorance. Job prospects were to be limited further.

Happily, the government has rescinded what was potentially an unpopular proposal.

Speaking at the Great Zimbabwe University in Masvingo on Tuesday, the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Professor Jonathan Moyo said: “Proposals had been made to reduce the government wage bill and that was going to see State universities being affected as a 30 percent cut on the grant had been mooted.

“The proposed cut had been raised to 50 percent but a dialogue between the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development and treasury managed to come up with a resolution which saw the latter’s decision being rescinded.”

Access to education in the country has been increasingly getting complicated for the general public since 2000 when the government removed the 100 percent educational grants to students at universities and colleges. Prior to 2000, students only needed to apply to study, be offered a place and present themselves at their college or university. They were provided free campus accommodation, three decent meals daily, had their linen washed by the college every week, were provided with toilet paper weekly and cutlery every semester. They never paid anything.

However, the economic challenges after 2000 meant that the government had to cut spending on higher education with students having to pay. It goes without saying that many failed, so dropped out while others never attempted to go to university. For these, the alternative was to undergo police, army and correctional services training where students still learn for free and pay when they graduate and are on jobs.

A March 2014 study, Challenges Facing University Education in Zimbabwe that was published in the Greener Journal of Education and Training Studies highlights the funding constraints in university training.

“Most universities,” it says, “rely on government funding but funding of universities by the state has reflected a negative trend, funding has been left to individuals to pay for their education. Higher education is under-funded. University education has now become a preserve for the elite, very few students are able to pay for their education, and loans for students are not being availed.”

The government realised that education was getting too expensive for many and introduced the cadetship programme in 2006. Under this scheme, the government paid the student’s fees on condition that he or she would commit to be bonded upon graduating and part of their salary liquidates the loan they used to fund their training. But the well-meaning cadetship scheme is not accessible to all who need it. Also, the huge increase in student enrolment put more pressure on the national budget. As a result, the government defaulted and some students were removed from class.

The August 1 proposal was not going to help matters. By rescinding the grant reduction proposal, the government has shown that it is aware of the difficult situation on the ground and is doing something about it.

“Zimbabwean universities,” says the 2014 study, “need to be able to generate income and realise profit where possible, hence rely less on government funding. This meant Zimbabwe Universities need to generate income and become self-sufficient.”

Universities will find the quest for more financial self-sufficiency challenging to attain but still worth pursuing. In the meantime, the government needs to maintain the grants at the current level. On the other hand parents, guardians and self-financing students should strive to contribute to their education.