BY LUBALETHU NDLOVU AND LUNGILE NGWENYA
Thirteen National University of Science and Technology (NUST) students were on Monday arrested by police for leading a demonstration at the university`s main campus in Bulawayo.
The students are currently being detained at the Bulawayo Central Police station.
According to their lawyer, Jabulani Mhlanga of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), no charges have been laid against them as yet.
“Thirteen students have been arrested so far and they are currently detained at the Bulawayo central Police station. No charges have been levelled against them so far,” said Mhlanga.
The students barricaded the university`s main entrances with logs and iron bars to block the university`s staff from the entering the campus after lecturers reportedly boycotted parallel classes citing low remuneration.
Anti-riot police swooped in on the students and arrested some of the students who are believed to have been leading the demonstration before whisking them away to the police station.
However, some of the students, waving placards and singing song denouncing the university`s management, continued with the protest inside the campus which had been surrounded by police details.
Speaking to CITE, some of the students said it was unfair that parallel students were being denied the right to education while those in conventional classes were attending lectures.
“Parallel students attend classes every evening but they are not being taught. It is not fair that while some students are being taught, those in the parallel classes are affected by the lecturer`s strike,” said one student.
The students also blasted the university`s management for failing to provide conducive environment for the students.
“The university increased its intake without considering the size of the lecture rooms a situation which has caused overcrowding,” the student said.
