HARARE
–
At
least
13,000
Zimbabwean
students
are
currently
studying
in
Poland
universities
with
3,000
graduating
last
year,
a
minister
has
told
parliament.
Sheila
Chikomo,
the
deputy
Minister
of
Foreign
Affairs,
said
the
students
were
attracted
to
Poland
by
affordable
tuition
and
the
prospects
of
further
migration
to
more
attractive
destinations
in
Europe.
She
said
there
were
also
more
Zimbabwean
truck
drivers
in
Poland.
“The
report
of
significant
population
of
Zimbabweans
residing
in
Poland
comprises
not
only
students
but
also
truck
drivers
who
have
been
attracted
to
Poland
for
various
opportunities
and
disperse
throughout
Poland.
Poland
serves
as
a
gateway
to
Europe
and
the
United
Kingdom.
“In
terms
of
figures,
current
estimates
are
that
they
are
around
13,000
Zimbabwean
students
in
Poland,”
said
Chikomo
while
responding
to
a
question
by
Emakhandeni-Luveve
MP
Descent
Bajila
who
also
wanted
to
know
if
the
universities
were
accredited.
She
said
the
students
made
private
arrangements
to
be
in
that
country
and
have
not
reached
out
to
the
Zimbabwean
Embassy
in
Germany.
“This
has
made
it
difficult
for
our
actual
figure
of
Zimbabweans
living
in
Poland.
So
far,
the
exercise
to
ascertain
the
number
has
not
yielded
any
desired
results.
“This
will
then
mean
that
it
requires
that
for
the
whole
Embassy
to
accurately
determine
the
number
of
Zimbabweans
in
Poland
they
should
travel
for
some
days
to
conduct
a
comprehensive
study
in
that
country,”
she
told
lawmakers.
She
said
one
of
the
factors
drawing
many
foreigners
including
Zimbabweans
to
Poland
are
the
relatively
low
university
fees
which
are
approximately
$3,500
per
year.
“Zimbabwean
students
in
Poland
are
registered
with
the
Policy
Ministry
of
Science
Higher
Tertiary
Education
and
enrolled
in
different
universities
with
Vincent
Pol
university
(VPU)
in
Lublin
being
one
of
the
most
prominent
options.
VPU
is
officially
registered
with
the
Policy
Ministry
of
Science
Higher
Tertiary
Education,
allowing
it
to
recognise
Bachelors
and
Masters
degrees.
“Notably,
VPU
has
recently
seen
about
300
Zimbabwean
students
graduate
in
the
last
year,”
said
Chikomo.