The beginning of the year saw many young people enter a new phase in their life in education.
Infants going to pre-school, Form ones in starched uniforms, secondary school graduates going to university and branching off to vocational studies and tertiary education.
On the surface everything seems to be in order, but the authors of Education in Zimbabwe (The Past, Present, and Vision of the Future) offer a sobering prognosis.
The book edited by Fay Chung, Tichaonga J. Nhundu, and Vimbisai Nhundu carries a foreword by the country’s first Minister of Education Dzingai Mutumbuka who has also been credited for initiating its conception.
The editors contribute several individual and co-authored chapters, with further input from Steven S. Nyengera, and Charles Nherera. ‘Education in Zimbabwe’ is weighed with statistics and arduous analysis.
After all, it is mainly targeted at academia, and policy makers, with inclusion of “Anyone interested in the theory and praxis of education in Zimbabwe.”
Independently published under The Education Consortium, it is a rare gem that can be used as a plumb line for ongoing developments in the country’s educational sector.
The subtitle of the book presents time as the prism through which the writers process their observations, and question outcomes. The past is used to juxtapose racially segregated education during colonial times.
The past is also used to aluminate the gains of post-independence education policies, and the erosion of such gains thereafter leading up to the present moment. ‘The Vision of Future,’ projects hope against current shortcomings and impending reforms. “Zimbabwe has understood in principle that education is a basic human right at all levels, but its implementation has proved to be problematic.” Chung writes.
The book highlights the importance of Early Childhood Education, together with Technical Vocational Education Training. For a general reader one revelatory chapter may be ‘The Cognitive and Values Foundation of Education’ by Fay Chung.
Another chapter that may be of greater import to the general public would be ‘Curriculum Development and Teacher Education’ by Vimbisai Nhundu. The book's arguments, analysis, and propositions are driven from the perception that education is important for social transformation, and economic development.
More critically, education is seen as a pathway to social mobility.
In its historical overview the book echoes another published by Arrupe Jesuit University four decades ago titled ‘Colonialism and Education in Zimbabwe’ by Rungano J. Zvobgo.
Over the years there have been various publications written on the developments in post-independence educational policy in the country including; ‘Pedagogics, Curriculum Transformation, and the Future of Teachers’ Colleges in Zimbabwe (2025) edited by Costain Tandi, Christopher Munyaradzi Mabeza and Wilson Zivave, ‘The Quality Education Question in Satellite Schools of Zimbabwe (2025) by Godfrey Jakachira, ‘Beyond Zimbabwe's 5.0 Education Model’ (2024) by Takavafira M Zhou, ‘Regime and Education in Zimbabwe’ (2024) edited by Bekithemba Dube, and Albert Mufanechiya, ‘Quality Education in Rural Learning Ecologies in Zimbabwe’ (2023) edited by Christopher Ndlovu, ‘Education and Development in Zimbabwe’ (2011) by Edward Shizha and Michael T. Kariwo, and ‘Education Management Practices in Zimbabwe’ (2006) by Prof. BRS Chivore.
A remarkable fact about the authorship of Education in Zimbabwe is that with the exception of Nherera, Ms Chung and the other cohort’s have been involved in the formulation of educational policies for the country going back before it gained independence from British colonial rule.
During the liberation struggle Ms Chung was Head of Curriculum and Teacher Education for the Zanu Education Department, Mutumbuka was ZANU Secretary for Education and Culture, Tichatonga J. Nhundu lectured in teacher education, Vimbisai Nhundu worked as Political Commissar in Zanu PF camp, and Stephen Nyengera joined Zanu school camp from Sierra Leone.
The authors are an inspiring remnant that have retained focus on delivering their objectives from the liberation struggle without getting buried under the scramble for the spoils of war.
Launched on May 7, 2024, Zimbabwe recently introduced a mandatory Heritage-Based Curriculum (HBC) (2024-2030), for primary and secondary schools inclusive of private institutions.
The mandate is effective from February 2026. Public response has swung between the extremes of blind outrage, and uninformed acquiesce. ‘Education in Zimbabwe’ cultivates the grounds for informed engagement. It helps to problematize prevailing trends and proffers a framework for development that does not conflict with the changing times.
About reviewer
Nyadzombe Nyampenza is an art critic, photographer, and conceptual artist. In 2023, he was the Nama recipient for Outstanding Journalist (Print). He was awarded Second Prize at the Zimbabwe Annual Art Exhibition (2016), and represented Zimbabwe at Bamako Encounters (Photography Biennale) in Mali (2015). Nyadzombe was the 2020 Fellow at Apex Art, in New York City. He is passionate about non-fiction creative writing and his ambition is to raise public awareness about visual arts from Zimbabwe through engaging, accessible, critical, and entertaining narratives.
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