13,000 Zimbabwean students studying in Poland, says minister

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. – ZimLive