The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) has begun replacing impressive lecturers with staff who have been paid for $3 per hour. This follows ongoing industrial action by university educators demanding fair compensation and better working conditions.
A recent letter of appointment seen by 263Chat reveals that the newly adopted assistant instructor is being offered a contract that lasts for just three months. The hourly wage structure is only USD 3.30 for 60% of working hours and just USD 2.20 for the remaining 40%. These fees are paid in Zig currency equivalents. This is a move that has been widely criticized for its instability and inflation-prone nature of its local currency.
The letter issued by UZ’s Human Capital Management Department details a rigorous schedule of 60 hours per semester per module, and includes responsibilities such as preparing lessons, setting up and marking assignments and exams.
Critics say that the university approach is equivalent to exploitation and undermine the quality of education and the dignity of academic labor. “This is a blatant attempt to break the strike by peanuts hanging in front of a hopeless expert,” said Charles Mara.
The move comes amid growing the crisis in Zimbabwe’s higher education sector. The instructor has long complained about salary that could not keep up with the cost of living. One of the nation’s leading institutions, Zimbabwe University is currently facing charges of prioritizing cost-cutting over quality and ethics.
This latest development is expected to increase tensions as unions and education stakeholders mobilize and resist what many consider to be a deliberate attack on the academic workforce.
“Replacing professionals with inadequately paid temporary staff is not myopic. It’s a recipe for facility collapse,” says Mhara.
The university’s silence in response to increasing criticism only encouraged doubt that more unruly tactics could be ongoing to curb objections and weaken collective bargaining.
