ZINASU Extra-Ordinary General Council Resolutions

The Plenary Session of the historic ZINASU Extra Ordinary General Councilthat took place in Harare on the 08th of July 2010 debated and resolved thefollowing:

(a) That the Cadetship scheme is not the best form of governmentintervention because it affirms this era of reduced student support, as mostuniversities/colleges have received numerous batches of partial paymentswhich have left students vulnerable to dismissal from exam rooms andwithholding of their results by authorities. Thus the General Councilresolved to push for the progressive return to the popular student grantssystem because it remains the obligation of the state to fund tertiaryeducation.

(b) The General Councilors mandated the ZINASU NEC to review the currentstate of the education sector in Zimbabwe through meetings and workshops ofZINASU regional structures, to assess the state of the education sector atinstitutional and regional level. The students demanded that the governmentof Zimbabwe must also have the same review process, especially where theissue of the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Dr Stan Mudenge isconcerned who has been rendered inefficient by health-related circumstances.The Union called upon the Government to urgently recall Minister Mudenge andredeploy an able minister to rescue the sector from total collapse.

(c) The students expressed great concern over the underutilized role ofthe Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund (ZIMDEF) in assisting theaccessibility of education at tertiary institutions, especially articulatingthat its revival in liaison with the private sector may make student grantsa reality.

(d) The students called for the Ministry of Finance to give seriousbudgetary considerations to the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Educationwith the view to increase financial support to students by the Government ofZimbabwe in light of recent socio-economic deprivation. Particularly thestudents also called for the reviewing of student teacher allowances.

(e) That the continued sexual abuse of female students by some collegeauthorities and lecturers remains in huge discord with all efforts toadvance the rights of the girl child especially where the right to educationis concerned, including non-discrimination and abuse. The agreement wasthat ZINASU must coordinate with other campaigners, stakeholders andrelevant authorities towards the resolution of that issue.

(f) The students called to remain dignified in their struggles, on thebackdrop of student victimization which saw many student activists beingjailed or dismissed from tertiary institutions in the recent months, in anundeclared undemocratic programme of thwarting of the student voices whichincluded the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Higher and TertiaryEducation and the university/college authorities. The students denounce themilitarization of state tertiary institutions into quasi-police states asdisplayed by the frequent presence of police officers, demanding ofidentification reminiscent of the colonial system, and disproportionatepresence of state security agents and battalions of university security, andstrongly demand their disbanding. The students unequivocally affirm theirright to politically mobilize for the right to education in Zimbabwe.

(g) Genuine student leadership must be instituted at tertiaryinstitutions through student driven elections. Particularly, we note thatmany institutions are not having SRC elections and where these are electedthe administrations only allow token representation and have created theirown systems of patronage on institutional unions.

(h) That the ZINASU take the campaign against Privatization of Educationand other related facilities serious to an advanced level by spearheadingthe formation of Anti-Privatization Forums at Universities, Polytechnics,Teachers Colleges and other institutions of higher and tertiarylearning. Meanwhile,the General Council also reaffirmed the ideological stand point of ZINASU asstrong as that of a Marxist Leninist inclination towards championing therights of the poor. In this regard, the Union also warned that no amount offinancial rewards should be allowed to cow the Union into submission andregret about its ideological orientation.

(i) The General Councilors dictated, in light of the current confusionamong some student activists, that in accordance with the ZINASUConstitution and mandate the students shall remain the chief custodians ofthe Union and this should be through vigorous participation in decisionmaking processes.

(j) ZINASU ratified the formation of a Young Communist League inZimbabwe to champion the struggles of all the marginalized youths inZimbabwe, including students who have faced privatization of the educationsector, young members of the working peoples, the unemployed, the youthassembly of NCA and youths in political parties who are being subjected todisempowerment.

(k) The students demanded that politicians must not monopolize importantnational socio-political processes of note, the National Healing program andthe constitutional making agenda. They particularly noted that the currentconstitutional making process must be interrogated with the view that it isnot the best model and may lead to undesired results, especially given itshitherto events. Therefore as ZINASU we amplify our demand for a genuinepeople-driven constitution as opposed to *people being driven* process. Inthe same vein, ZINASU will continue to partner like minded movements underthe TAKE CHARGE Campaign in resisting the COPAC Led process.

ZINASU also resolved in line with the national healing agenda that thestudents of Zimbabwe demand an immediate amnesty for student activists whowere dismissed from universities/colleges prior and after the formation ofthe inclusive government.

(l) ZINASU agreed that the workers, particularly civil servants must besufficiently remunerated through serious budgetary considerations by theMinistry of Finance and exploring of other avenues of fiscus generation ofnote the Marange diamond fields. Meanwhile, the General Council alsoreaffirmed the ideological stand point of ZINASU as strong as that of aMarxist Leninist inclination in fighting to champion the rights of the poor,particularly the students of Zimbabwe. In this regard, the Union also warnedthat no amount of financial rewards should be allowed to cow the Union into submission and regret about its ideological orientation.

Finally, let me warn that the path that we have taken is the path that theGeneral Councilors of ZINASU, the highest decision making board of the UNIONhas chosen and let no one who is negative spoil or interfere with this pathunless he/ she wants to be at the mercy of the students.

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