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Pamela Shumba Senior Reporter
THE government owes universities and tertiary institutions $61 million for students under the cadetship programme, Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister, Cde Oppah Muchinguri, said yesterday.

Addressing hundreds of students at the Bulawayo Polytechnic, Cde Muchinguri said student enrolment had been going up due to the country’s growing population, but there were financial limitations in supporting them on the part of the government.

The minister said the tight fiscus space that the government was operating under was making it difficult to sustain programmes such as the cadetship scheme.

“As at March 2015, government owes universities and tertiary institutions $61,030,345 for the cadetship programme. The student population has been growing over the years and our economic environment has not been conducive to support this growth with adverse effects on support for student education,” said Cde Muchinguri.

She appealed for assistance in supporting student education, saying government could not do it alone.

“Collectively, we need to identify models of how to fund students’ education without compromising on the quantity and quality. Some of the models to consider can include the establishment of a revolving fund with stringent measures on loan follow-ups and repayments. Another way is for us to support students in key disciplines that have a direct bearing on economic growth,” said Cde Muchinguri.

She encouraged tertiary institutions to establish robust and vibrant alumni that would work towards addressing the challenges facing students and tertiary institutions in terms of infrastructure development.

The cadetship programme was introduced in 2007 by the government to assist students without the capacity to pay their own fees.

Students on the scheme are bonded once they complete their studies so that their skills can be retained anywhere in the country.

However, most students fail to secure jobs after their studies.

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