Swazi regime takes away students' scholarships

By Peter Kenworthy, Communications- and Project Assistant

A final draft for a new scholarship policy that is meant to “formalise and strengthen cost-sharing mechanisms in the provision of scholarships” of Swaziland's tertiary education was endorsed by Swaziland's parliament yesterday. The euphemistic wording of the policy is code for privatisation and the the removing of scholarships, and thereby punishing the students for vocally opposing the government, however.

“This means that the ordinary Swazis will have to pay for his or her tuition fees. They will be no personal and meal allowances for the current students in tertiary institutions”, said National Organising Secretary of The Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS), Maxwell Dlamini, who called for protest against the policy.”Should we allow government to reduce education to a commodity that can be bought and sold at the behest of the wealth. Well, for some of us we will not.”

In February, SNUS had demonstrated and boycotted classes in an attempt to make the Swazi government deliver on its promises of  free primary school education in accordance with the constitution of Swaziland, as well as to ensure reasonable educational standards and a new scholarship policy.