Students at the University of Zimbabwe and other institutions of higher learning in the country on Monday launched a boycott of classes demanding a cut in tuition fees and access to campus residences closed since 2007.
Student sources said armed police details responding to the boycott action raided the offices of the Simbabwe National Students Union in the Emerald Hill suburb of Harare, confiscating documents and publicity posters.
ZINASU President Obert Masaure was detained by suspected state security agents when he arrived at the university’s’ main campus, union national executive Chamunorwa Madiridze told reporter Thomas Chiripasi.
Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education Lutho Tapela said the dining hall and some halls of residence at the University of Zimbabwe are under renovation so students cannot be accommodated yet.
Tapela told VOA Studio 7 reporter Sithandekile Mhlanga that student complaints about fees were unwarranted as they can enter a so-called cadetship scheme with fees paid by the government in return for service after graduation.
But students said they did not want to be bound to service for years after university in that way.