Staff Reporter
Students at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) have staged a demonstration at the campus in protest against lecturers’ failure to come for parallel lectures.
The students blocked the university’s main entrance in a bid to prevent staffers/lecturers from entering the campus.
The MDC Youth Assembly is riled by the barbaric state behaviour exhibited by the illegal arrest of 13 NUST students on Monday.
In a statement released by the Youth Assembly, the opposition is regrettable and quite saddening that the ever blundering regime keeps on civil liberties enshrined in the constitution
“As an Assembly, we strongly believe that the right to education which the NUST students are clamoring for is the prime indicator of any society that is ready to achieve transformation and development.
“As such quashing and trampling the right to education is self defeating and at worst a symbol of cowardice, barbarism and retrogression.
“We are strong conviction that our universities to produce best graduates, they should resemble a university where lectures meet to share new horizons of knowledge instead of resembling a warzone that is being propagated by this military regime.
“ As MDC Youth Assembly demand the unconstitutional release and compensation of the detained NUST students at the shortest period of time”, reads the statement.
The statement added that the continued detention of these students is not only a declaration of war to the student community but young people and all the progressive forces of our society.
The students were protesting against the continued industrial action by lecturers who are demanding a pay hike. Only two of the arrested students had been released last night, sources said.
Bulawayo acting police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Nomalanga Msebele declined to comment on the matter on Monday.The students last week tried to stage another demonstration which was thwarted by police.
Their concern was lecturers were not attending to them for the past three weeks.The most affected students were the parallel classes that have reportedly not been learning since the beginning of this semester.
In a statement, the SRC president earlier on had said it was now clear that their administration had failed to deliver quality education.
“We regret to inform the authorities that if the official and principal business at a university is denied, we are demanding the halting of any activity on campus.
We must remind the authorities that they have forced us out of class and, indeed, we shall stay out of class unless resolute action is taken to end this crisis,” read the statement.
The SRC said ongoing lecturers strike had become a heavy burden on students paying exorbitant prices in rentals, food and transport, but being turned down every day because there were no lectures.
Add comment