ZIMBABWE-EDUCATION: Easing The Hunger For University Education

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Pedzisai Ruhanya

HARARE, Jul 26 1996 (IPS) - The mushrooming of universities in Zimbabwe may fulfill one of Patrick Matanga’s dreams.

“I want to thank the government and all the churches that are helping in building more universities for us. I hope to join one of them next year,” says an elated 21-year-old Matanga.

The young man is among the thousands of A’ (Advanced) level students in Zimbabwe who qualify to enter the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) – the country’s oldest and largest university – but cannot, due to limited space.

A few years ago, students like Matanga would have had little option but to forgo a university education. Now, the government and private organisations – mainly churches – are stepping up efforts to build universities to match the growing demand.

In 1990 the government gave the go ahead for the Africa University, run by the United Methodist Church and based in the eastern town of Mutare. This university, which caters for students from throughout Africa, opened its doors in March 1992.

The government also announced recently that the Dutched Reform Church will open next year the Great Zimbabwe University in the southern province of Masvingo.

Besides the long established UZ, the government in 1990 built the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) in Bulawayo, the second largest city in the southern part of the country.

Only this year, it opened Bindura University in Mashonaland Central province, one of the eight provinces of the country, and in 1997, Gweru University in central Zimbabwe is to have its first intake of students.

This brings to six the number of universities now in Zimbabwe.

The start of new universities however has not kept pace with the expansion in secondary education in this Southern African nation.

Secondary enrolment increased some tenfold during the 1980s. By 1990, for example, there were 673,256 students enrolled in secondary schools compared to 73,105 in 1980 (the year the country became independent).

According to the Central Statistics Office, some 9,634 Zimbabwean secondary students sat their A’ level exams in 1995 to qualify for university and of this group 69,5 percent passed.

The new universities are not yet fully operational, and are therefore still unable to absorb most of the students who qualify. The UZ takes between 1000-2000 new students each year.

“There are thousands of young Zimbabweans out there who qualify to benefit from what the university can offer. At present we can only take between 300 and 400 of them per year, out of a total of 4000 applications,” Professor Phineas Makhurane, the vice-chancellor at NUST said at a recent graduation ceremony.

When the university becomes fully operational, it will accommodate some 3,000-4,000 students. At present, only five of the 32 major buildings planned for the university are being built. The university has an academic staff complement of 82.

“Although this figure reveals the fact that we are operating at a staff to student ratio of 1:17, it conceals the fact that the university has a serious paucity of academic staff,” Makhurane told the gathering, which included President Robert Mugabe, the chancellor of all the six universities.

One reason for this is the unattractive salaries offered by government universities. Qualified Zimbabweans often opt for higher paying jobs in industry and the private sector.

Professors in the United States, for example, are paid between 60,000 and 100,000 U.S dollars or more annually, while in the United Kingdom they earn between 52,500 and 60,000 U.S dollars, Makhurane said.

Salaries for full professors in Zimbabwe are far lower. According to a senior lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe, who declined to be named, a professor is paid 12,000 U.S dollars annually, while an associate professor gets 11,000 dollars.

Veteran educationist and Dean of UZ’s Science Faculty, Professor Heneri Dzinotyiwei, cautioned however that while the country races to match the number of universities with the growing demand, it must not compromise on the quality of education.

Thoko Ruzvidzo, the director of the World University Service for Southern Africa agrees, adding that one way to ensure better quality is to opt for more technical universities which meet the country’s development needs.

“More universities are needed because the UZ is oversubscribed. What worries me are the employment opportunities of the graduates. I would opt for technical colleges,” said Ruzvidzo, who is also a member of the university’s council.

She added that government can also ensure quality by putting adequate funding into its universities to pay competitive salaries to attract and retain qualified staff, and to provide the best facilities.

Ruzvidzo noted that already the seven-month-old Bindura University is suffering financially.

Bindura’s pro-vice chancellor, James Chitauro, complained recently that the one million U.S dollars allocated to the university by the government for their financial year is grossly inadequate.

“We opened for our first intake amid an array of problems including lack of basic furniture. During the first week students had to do without furniture as most of the equipment had not yet been delivered,” he told the press Wednesday.

Chitauro also said the promised three million U.S dollars for recurrent expenditure is not enough. “The college needs in excess of 20 million U.S dollars to start constructing laboratories and other essential facilities required by the students.”