Midlands State University faces a series of massive demonstrations after it was given an ultimatum by the coalition of students and students unions namely, YARDSC and ZINASU identifying themselves as Team Concerned Students.
The letter was delivered on the 26th of March giving it up to 31 March for the administration to act up against their plight or they will be forced to turn the state institution ungovernable.
After the arrest of 3 MSU students activists (Ashlegh Pfunye, Archibold Madida and Munyaradzi Rushwaya Chuma) who were protesting against the dissolution of the current SRC and salaries increment for lecturers and the staff amongst other evils, a tense uprising has been made over the week.
In response to the brutalization of 37 students at MSU Gweru campus by culprits identified as Zimbabwe National Army members passed a media censorship statute that no press was to capture that and release to the general public and any student caught being involved might face disciplinary action. But however this has faced resistance and led to the institution IT department blocking students from the Facebook page. In a comment by the ZINASU Midlands Chairman said, “As MSU STUDENTS we will not be silenced by the administration using its draconian statutes actually we are calling for an alignment of ordinance 30 to the new Constitution which guarantees Freedom of expression”.
The trio of activists who were once detained for speaking out on students plight has been tipped of being expelled from the institution any day from now. But however the YARD Students Command member and victim stated that, ” Noone has an obligation of chucking out a student for simply expressing his grievances. This is a clear check that some individuals running the institution were not appointed on merit but rather by a nepotistic crubeen way. What they should focus on are the real bread and butter issues affecting students each and everyday not this!”
Midlands State University has the largest enrollment in the country and is one of the most expensive state universities.