UZ Lecturers’ Strike Shakes Academia as Charamba Hints at Breakthrough
Three days after giving the government a ten-day ultimatum over poor pay and worsening working conditions, striking university lecturers may be on the verge of a breakthrough— if signals from Presidential Spokesperson George Charamba are anything to trust.
The lecturers, whose demands include a return to pre-2018 wages of US$2,250 for junior staff, began demonstrating earlier this month at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ), where some were arrested and fined.
Their salaries have since plunged to as low as US$230, prompting many to withdraw their labour and halt critical duties such as examination marking.
Posting on X under his moniker Jamwanda, Charamba signaled hope on the horizon. “You have been heard!!! Government is addressing the welfare of university lecturers,” he wrote.
“It turns out the Chancellor, Dr. E.D. Mnangagwa, had long approved recommendations which should have put this matter well behind us. Inertia gathered somewhere and the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) will cause movement.”
His statement came just days after he acknowledged that the lecturers’ concerns were “genuine.”
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The standoff reached new heights last week when Munyaradzi Gwisai, legal advisor to UZ’s Association of University Teachers (AUT), issued a ten-day ultimatum threatening a nationwide withdrawal of services at all 14 state universities.
“We must ensure that not a single examination paper is marked from today onwards. We must ensure that not a single examination board sits from today onwards,” Gwisai told members.
The AUT has refused to resume duties until tangible progress is made on their demands.
The strike, if expanded nationwide, could plunge the already struggling education sector into further disarray.
A report from lecturers at Midlands State University (MSU)’s Zvishavane campus painted a bleak picture, some are said to be sleeping in their offices due to an inability to afford rent both in Zvishavane and back home in Gweru, where their families reside.
This comes as the country’s civil service, including educators, has long been plagued by low wages, with many professionals leaving for neighbouring countries such as South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana in search of better opportunities.
With the clock ticking down on the ultimatum, all eyes are now on the government to act decisively and bring an end to a crisis that threatens the very core of Zimbabwe’s higher education system.
