President Robert Mugabe’s office has pumped R23-million into the University of Fort Hare as part of a scholarship programme.
The Saturday Dispatch has learnt that Mugabe’s cash-strapped regime sent its cabinet minister Chris Mushowe to Fort Hare last week to discuss the deal and allay university fears that the funding for the presidential scholarship programme could be cut off amid that country’s tough economic situation.
Mushowe, the executive director of the scholarship programme, arrived at UFH following Mugabe’s hero’s welcoming at the Alice campus during centenary celebrations in May this year.
Fort Hare has battled with financial challenges amid the #FeesMustFall countrywide student protests. UFH spokesman Lizo Phiti confirmed Mushowe’s visit.
“Hon Dr Mushowe had a meeting with the registrar, Prof Somniso, to discuss continued relations between the Zimbabwean government and the University of Fort Hare. The meeting was held on Monday October 3 at the East London campus. The main point of discussion was to confirm that Zimbabwe is still interested in sending its students to the university in spite of their constrained financial resources.”
Phiti said the Zimbabwean government had paid R23-million to the university to fund those students in the system and to cater for students entering in 2017.
There are currently 94 first-time intake registered students from Zimbabwe.
Phiti said the number included those students who were self-funded.
He said there were no outstanding payments against the Zimbabwean government on the scholarship.
The spokesman said the relations between the university and Zimbabwe had been and continue to be mutually beneficial. One of the areas of interaction involves the sharing of research and research dissemination expertise.
“For example, from June 15 to 17, the acting dean of research, Professor Wilson Akpan, ran a research publication workshop for social science academics and postgraduate students at Lupane State University (LSU), Bulawayo. The workshop’s main aim was to help grow LSU’s research profile by exposing its academics and postgraduate students to techniques of converting postgraduate dissertations into publishable scientific papers,” he said.
Professor Akpan also used the opportunity of the visit to promote Fort Hare’s centenary initiative of intensifying scholarly bridge-building across the African higher education sector through, for example, encouraging selected universities on the continent to offer their campuses as sites for the direct delivery of some of UFH’s flagship postgraduate programmes.
In 2013, Mugabe’s office paid R15-million into the coffers of the University of Fort Hare as part of settling a R40-million bill owed by beneficiaries of his presidential scholarship.
At the time, Zimbabwean students told the Dispatch that only a once-off payment of R300 to some and R1500 to others had been paid as a “living allowance” since the beginning of 2013 and, as a result, some of the students had taken jobs as bouncers and waiters to make a living.
Attempts made to get a comment from the student representative council were unsuccessful.
Zim students receive boost
The Saturday Dispatch has learnt that Mugabe’s cash-strapped regime sent its cabinet minister Chris Mushowe to Fort Hare last week to discuss the deal and allay university fears that the funding for the presidential scholarship programme could be cut off amid that country’s tough economic situation.
Mushowe, the executive director of the scholarship programme, arrived at UFH following Mugabe’s hero’s welcoming at the Alice campus during centenary celebrations in May this year.
Fort Hare has battled with financial challenges amid the #FeesMustFall countrywide student protests. UFH spokesman Lizo Phiti confirmed Mushowe’s visit.
“Hon Dr Mushowe had a meeting with the registrar, Prof Somniso, to discuss continued relations between the Zimbabwean government and the University of Fort Hare. The meeting was held on Monday October 3 at the East London campus. The main point of discussion was to confirm that Zimbabwe is still interested in sending its students to the university in spite of their constrained financial resources.”
Phiti said the Zimbabwean government had paid R23-million to the university to fund those students in the system and to cater for students entering in 2017.
There are currently 94 first-time intake registered students from Zimbabwe.
Phiti said the number included those students who were self-funded.
He said there were no outstanding payments against the Zimbabwean government on the scholarship.
The spokesman said the relations between the university and Zimbabwe had been and continue to be mutually beneficial. One of the areas of interaction involves the sharing of research and research dissemination expertise.
“For example, from June 15 to 17, the acting dean of research, Professor Wilson Akpan, ran a research publication workshop for social science academics and postgraduate students at Lupane State University (LSU), Bulawayo. The workshop’s main aim was to help grow LSU’s research profile by exposing its academics and postgraduate students to techniques of converting postgraduate dissertations into publishable scientific papers,” he said.
Professor Akpan also used the opportunity of the visit to promote Fort Hare’s centenary initiative of intensifying scholarly bridge-building across the African higher education sector through, for example, encouraging selected universities on the continent to offer their campuses as sites for the direct delivery of some of UFH’s flagship postgraduate programmes.
In 2013, Mugabe’s office paid R15-million into the coffers of the University of Fort Hare as part of settling a R40-million bill owed by beneficiaries of his presidential scholarship.
At the time, Zimbabwean students told the Dispatch that only a once-off payment of R300 to some and R1500 to others had been paid as a “living allowance” since the beginning of 2013 and, as a result, some of the students had taken jobs as bouncers and waiters to make a living.
Attempts made to get a comment from the student representative council were unsuccessful.
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