MANY would agree that most Zimbabwean universities are often caught flatfooted — outmoded and out of touch.
Who hasn’t felt that what they learned at university is irrelevant to their work’s needs?
This article aims to provoke a discourse that might help improve our universities.
Unlearned learning institutes
Are we not in danger of wasting our time in these unlearned institutes?
The language, culture, and content of our universities must be rethought and realigned.
Are we not teaching students to memorise rather than reason?
Students might be excelling in the wrong things.
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Research and debate in our universities must be robust, incisive and creative.
We must go beyond learning how to use to learning how to cannibalise and recreate new means for solving problems. We can delineate what others have created, but are not fully equipped to design our own tools for reasoning and relevance.
We might have professors with information, but without solutions to future problems and changes.
Place a higher demand
Let’s open more debate in our institutions to improve ideation.
If students are not exuding critical and creative cognitive energy, disruptive learning suffers.
Zimbabwe, in general, suffers from what I call “linearity abundance”.
We might be educated, but we excel at regurgitating known modes and models, fearing the route of redefining our creative realities.
Modes vs models
We need to look for new modes in our execution.
We can’t be attached to outmoded, archaic tools and expect to reach the future with speed and agility.
John Kotter, in his book Accelerate, says we need to master four things as leaders: speed, agility, efficiency and effectiveness.
Our Zimbabwean universities need this.
Systems and structures
Institutes of education have been effective in helping companies set up well-modelled structures.
However, structures become more effective with agile systems running them.
For industry to succeed, we must have relevant systems that make anyone competitive in the ever-changing glocal (global and local) economy.
Can a local engineer compete with anyone in the world? Are we in danger of being taught to maintain and repair rather than engineer new systems?
Choked by change
My strong feeling is that Zimbabwean universities are choked by change.
The big talk in recent years has been about the 4th Industrial Revolution, as predicted by the World Economic Forum. Are we there yet?
Now the focus is on artificial intelligence (AI). Which university in Zimbabwe offers a clear-cut degree on AI?
Or have we made any reasonable partnerships with leaders in this field? We are often found chasing the wind of change.
Consumers vs creators
Our minds, as Africans, have been programmed mainly to be consumers rather than creators.
Hence, the need for decoloniality in our education and knowledge systems. We need more people to learn to create and then produce.
Universities should help people transform from linear to non-linear thinking.
People should be able to disrupt after finishing their studies.
Parting point: Zimbabwean universities must evolve to become agents of change.
By fostering a culture of creativity, critical thinking, and adaptability, they can produce graduates who are not just consumers but creators and innovators.
We must move beyond traditional teaching methods and embrace new modes and models of learning that prepare students for a rapidly changing world.
Only then can we ensure that our education systems remain relevant and capable of driving progress and development.
- Jonah Nyoni is an author, speaker, and leadership trainer. He can be contacted on X @jonahnyoni. WhatsApp: +263 772 581 918
