The Great Zimbabwe University, marred by mismanagement and a staggering decline in service quality, has once again become the focal point of student unrest. This time, students from the Mashava campus took to the universities’ streets to voice their grievances over the dire water and accommodation crisis.
According to reports emanating from the campus, over 200 students find themselves without proper lodging despite having already paid their accommodation fees. This predicament is attributed to woeful foresight from the Dean of Students’ office headed by Mr O Simbo, which prioritized fee collection over service provision.
Adding fuel to the fire is the persistent water scarcity issue. While universities are typically esteemed institutions, the tarnished reputation of GZU has become a source of embarrassment. Students are forced to endure lengthy queues, sometimes exceeding an hour, just to access water for basic needs like bathing and drinking. The taps have run dry for an extended period, exacerbating the situation.
With Vice Chancellor Prof. Zvobgo ailing and absent from the scene, the responsibility of managing the institution falls on the registrar, Pro Vice Chancellor, and other senior personnel.
In a conversation with a disillusioned student having lunch under a tree due to the non-functional canteen building, he expressed profound sadness over the circumstances. Unable to even perform basic hygiene tasks or launder clothes due to water scarcity, he lamented the stark contrast between his childhood dreams of attending university and the harsh reality he now faces.
Another first year student likened her experience to that of a daughter in law who has to fetch water for the whole village. She said things like water should not be overlooked , this has to be declared as a state of emergency and the university should act swiftly to solve this issue. Management is yet to issue a response on all these allegations and demonstrations by students.
This is not an isolated case as other institutions such as Telone ,NUST and UZ have faced similar situation. There is need for proper quality check and external monitoring of universities as they seem to have high levels of mismanagement.
