THE High Court has ordered Bulawayo Polytechnic College to stop charging tuition fees and other levies exclusively in United States dollars.
This follows a court challenge filed last month by one of the students, Denford Prosper Gudukani Sithole after the college rejected his Zimdollar payment, insisting on US dollars only.
On Tuesday, Justice Nokuthula Moyo ruled in his favour and ordered the institution to reverse its decision.
In his application, Sithole argued through his lawyers Jabulani Mhlanga and Prisca Dube from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) that the directive to pay exclusively in US dollars infringed on his right to education.
He described Bulawayo Polytechnic’s demands as illegal as they violated Section 7(1) of the Exchange Control as amended by Section 2 of the Exchange Control Regulations 2020, (No 3) SI 185 of 2020.
Sithole also argued that Bulawayo Polytechnic’s conduct violated a directive published by the Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development ministry dated January 3, 2024, directing the acceptance of fees in ZWL at the equivalent interbank rate.
The civil engineering student added that the conduct of authorities at the college was inconsistent with the right to administrative justice enshrined in Section 68 of the Constitution.
He said the authorities at the college violated his right to further education as guaranteed in Section 75 of the Constitution.
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