OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Wednesday
ZIMBABWEAN students studying in South Africa have turned to prostitution and begging as their scholarship money has failed to arrive from home.
The Daily News said some 180 students at Fort Hare University near East London are living in near destitution because the cash-strapped Zimbabwe government is running behind on paying their bursaries.
The report quoted a statement by the students saying that life had become “so unbearable that some had resorted to begging and prostitution to survive”.
It added: “Life is hell here at Fort Hare University. … Students are living like paupers.”
The government admitted it was in arrears but not as much as was claimed by the university.
President Robert Mugabe, who studied at Fort Hare from 1949 to 1951 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree, established the scholarship programme.
It was then the only university in Southern Africa with a majority black student body and is the alma mater of hundreds of black political figures in the region.
University spokesperson Luthendo Bara said that Mugabe’s fund was supposed to have paid R5m at the beginning of the year for tuition, accommodation and meals for students. But the fund still owed R2m.
The students said they were worried they might be prevented from sitting their end-of-year examinations if their fees were not paid.
An Education Ministry spokesman in Harare said that most of the outstanding debt had been paid. He said: “I think the students are exaggerating.”
The fund was started in the mid 90s to cater for bright children from poor rural homes but there have been frequent complaints that most of the scholarships go to the families of rich ruling party politicians.
Zimbabwe faces a severe foreign currency shortage, and the little available is used to pay for urgent needs such as petroleum and electricity imports. – AFP