By caven masuku
The Chronicle paper indicates that, the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) have opened for its second semester and registration is in progress. There has been confusion over the opening dates with parents, students and guardians assuming that the institution would open in August.
The Chronicle paper says that NUST's Director of Information and Public Relations, Mr Felix Fandyroy Moyo, said that the first semester ended on 8 May for a 10-day break.
Mr Moyo is quoted in The Chronicle explaining that the 10-day holiday was unusual because the university normally closes for months.“The second semester started on 18 May and as I speak, lectures started on Monday, 1 June. We took a short break so that we could cover the lost time during the first semester, which we started in February instead of early January. Therefore, the idea to open the second semester early was to have a normal second semester,” said Mr Moyo.
“Registration is in full swing and we urge students to come for the second semester. I have received a lot of inquiries about when the university opens, let me clearly state that lectures are on.”He added that students who had problems paying their fees should at least fork out US$200 as deposit fees.
In Gweru Midlands State University (MSU) has revealed that a new semester will be starting on 15 June 2009, to cater for the disadvantaged students who could have continued their studies last year.
Most students who are expected to return for their fourth year expressed their happiness. John Ncube one of the returning students at MSU said that he is happy to resume his studies after a year and some months seated at home. “My brother I am happy that the university has concern for us. Well some will claim that they is no logic but the major business is for us students to get back and pick from where we left last year”, he said
Although many students may drop out of tertiary education due to high fees, it shows that the universities like NUST and MSU are concerned about their students. This is a good move albeit the fact that parent may find it difficult for them.
The whole of last year was wasted time especially on the academic side and such a pay back platform will enable students to recover their lost time. The two state universities, one from Matabeleland and the other from Midlands Province have been hailed for their effort to retain the good learning environment, said Simon Nxele. As a parent I feel happy and hope my children will be able to finish their studies without delays he added
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Telone bill beyond reach of many
By Caven masuku
The Herald paper indicated that the Zimbabwe fixed line telephone service provider TelOne charges are unprecedented and are beyond the reach of their clients. Most house holds in Gweru urban has shown dismay about the charges of phone bills which supersede their salary.
The Herald one of the leading daily papers quoted public relations officer Mr Collins Welbesi who said that telephone usage had not declined since dollarisation."Kindly note that telephone utilisation has not decreased with dollarisation. In fact the billed units for April 2009 are 25 percent above the November/December 2008 average”.
"In Zimbabwe, we are seeing heavy utilisation levels of about 25 000 units per month for residential customers,’’ he said. Perhaps what is bothering people is that they can no longer communicate over the phone the way they use to before because of the abnormal charges that are way-wide”, he said.
In the city of Gweru telone customers have received bills far above US$300 and one customer who called alleged that his bill for April was US$4 000.A survey in Gweru as well as to other big cities in Zimbabwe like Harare and Bulawayo has shown displeasure about the TelOne charges which give them a raw deal.
"We feel robbed and disappointed by the billing system TelOne is using."Is it normal, for a home telephone bill to reach high tariff above US$1800," said one customer who resides in Ivene. TelOne estimation indicates that, the average local telephone usage per month at household level is 100 units, which translates to 300 minutes per month."
At the local rate of US$0, 07 per minute the average bill for a household is U$21. It must be stressed categorically that those customers whose bills are ranging between US$300 and US$500 as stated in your inquiry, did utilise the phone," said Mr Welbesi.
Bills for one customer residing in South-Downs, Windsor Park and Lundi Park stood at US$320 for January combined with February charges.In March the bills surged up to US$250 and after the service provider announced the reduction of cost per minute for all local calls, the April bill stood at US$300.
However, despite these high charges the customer said he only managed to pay what he could afford for all these months above and his phone has not been cut off."I only managed to pay US$20 for each month from February up to April, luckily my phone has not been cut off,’’ said a customer who refused with his name.
The Herald paper indicated that the Zimbabwe fixed line telephone service provider TelOne charges are unprecedented and are beyond the reach of their clients. Most house holds in Gweru urban has shown dismay about the charges of phone bills which supersede their salary.
The Herald one of the leading daily papers quoted public relations officer Mr Collins Welbesi who said that telephone usage had not declined since dollarisation."Kindly note that telephone utilisation has not decreased with dollarisation. In fact the billed units for April 2009 are 25 percent above the November/December 2008 average”.
"In Zimbabwe, we are seeing heavy utilisation levels of about 25 000 units per month for residential customers,’’ he said. Perhaps what is bothering people is that they can no longer communicate over the phone the way they use to before because of the abnormal charges that are way-wide”, he said.
In the city of Gweru telone customers have received bills far above US$300 and one customer who called alleged that his bill for April was US$4 000.A survey in Gweru as well as to other big cities in Zimbabwe like Harare and Bulawayo has shown displeasure about the TelOne charges which give them a raw deal.
"We feel robbed and disappointed by the billing system TelOne is using."Is it normal, for a home telephone bill to reach high tariff above US$1800," said one customer who resides in Ivene. TelOne estimation indicates that, the average local telephone usage per month at household level is 100 units, which translates to 300 minutes per month."
At the local rate of US$0, 07 per minute the average bill for a household is U$21. It must be stressed categorically that those customers whose bills are ranging between US$300 and US$500 as stated in your inquiry, did utilise the phone," said Mr Welbesi.
Bills for one customer residing in South-Downs, Windsor Park and Lundi Park stood at US$320 for January combined with February charges.In March the bills surged up to US$250 and after the service provider announced the reduction of cost per minute for all local calls, the April bill stood at US$300.
However, despite these high charges the customer said he only managed to pay what he could afford for all these months above and his phone has not been cut off."I only managed to pay US$20 for each month from February up to April, luckily my phone has not been cut off,’’ said a customer who refused with his name.
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