The crippling of student activism

Today student activism has been limited to the agenda of creating factions within the youth movement intermingled with power struggle. It has lost its known mandate limiting it to fighting for better food crumbs from the university rather than national issues. However, we might want to blame today’s student activist and cadres over this juncture and forget the main cause. We might want to argue that they are living in harsh time Zimbabwe has have recorded since student life. I want to share the crippling of the student activism.

Prior 2006, where free university and icing with grants gave the then students to manoeuvre into scrutinising policies set for the nation. They saw themselves as future victims to any enactments that they saw adverse. This was coloured by mass student protests which began to be the trend of the University of Zimbabwe students under the leadership of cde Mutamabara, cde Jongwe among others. This set the record straight and defined student activism for the nation.

Well lest we forget, prior the current student life struggle, popular students were living better life styles economically, socially and politically. The trend dwindled as from 2006 as fees and grants vanished from the students and fees, accommodation and daily food was subjected to the students. Harsh University Ordinance were Amended to succumb any student uprising. The radical change the government took was a purposely endeavoured to silent student activism popularly aligned to ZCTU and shares a piece in the formation of the profound opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

Deliberately, in sought to cripple the student power house, was to close all economic leverages and benefits students were receiving from the government. Students had no economic and social worries but embraced political developments as it had shown influence to life after College. Students saw themselves as government workers and the civil service work conditions where dwindling following policies the government stipulated and enforced following ESAP and ZIMPREST.

Due to the schism between students and the government, the government purposively withdrew all student benefits such as grants and free education, although it hides with economical collapse. However, other students like Nurses, EHTs and teachers never saw their benefits lapsing as they were not visibly involved in the political domain or showed no interest at all.

Today, students need to make ends meet, find money to cover accommodation, tuition fees, registration fees and food during the course of semesters. This has drawn much of student time leaving a small chunk of it to schooling. Guarded by Callous University Ordinance which have seen student activist cadres being sent off colleges have forced the interim students not to scrutinise the government policies but in hardships try finish their education and reach out to the Diaspora for work as compared to be a forced illegitimate college dropout, dropped out for the fight of Student emancipation.

Worse, is that former students floating in the former opposition party structures as Ministers and so forth, who suffered merely the same predicament with the current students have turned a blind eye to students. They seem to enjoy the status quo, leaving students vulnerable and shun their activism limited to the University development at the expense of national development.

How can one address national issue when being chased out-of lectures for tuition fees and registration fees arrears? Former student never dreamt of such a scenario? Least I don’t say it, student activism was and is being crippled, not to allow them have space and time for participating in the national development discourse.

And to all the comrades and cadres in the struggle…I say Aluta Continua, The struggle continues….