The evolution of higher education in Zimbabwe

Abstract

This study examines the origins and development of higher education for the indigenous peoples in southern Africa as a whole, while focusing on the evolution of higher education in Zimbabwe in particular. The study examines the role that higher education plays in a developing social, economic and political context by reviewing the relevant literature on the history of higher education in southern Africa and conducting a survey of the current status of emerging higher education institutions in Zimbabwe. The government of Zimbabwe is pursuing multiple avenues of public-private co-operation in providing higher education in response to the growing demand from its citizens. The fieldwork included interviews with government officials and an extended visit to each of the four major new public and private universities in the country, during which focused interviews were conducted with university officials and relevant documents were obtained. The first generation of universities in Africa is being reassessed and new institutions are being created as a result of changes that have occurred in the world, in Africa and in the universities themselves. Internationally, the emergence of global markets has created a competitive world economic system characterized by rapid knowledge generation and technological innovation. Therefore the African universities are not evolving in isolation. They are becoming an integral part of the world university systems. This study documents the reciprocal relationship between the structure and function of educational institutions and the time and place in which they are situated. The current explosion of new higher education institutions across Zimbabwe is clearly a product of its historical and contemporary evolution as an independent country. At the same time, it is apparent that Zimbabwe's future as a player in the family of global nations is increasingly dependent on a strong and responsive system of higher education institutions focusing on the needs of the country and its citizens. Zimbabwe's future as a nation and the future of its higher education institutions are inextricably linked.