Post-colonial educational reforms in Zimbabwe: A fake badge of decolonisation of the curriculum

Abstract

While educational debates on the decolonisation of education have gained momentum in Sub-Saharan Africa, little is known about the success and progress made thus far, leaving a critical gap in our understanding of the accomplishment of the decolonisation agenda and whether what has been reformed is of use. Using document analysis, the qualitative study used Zimbabwe as a case to explore the progress made in the decolonisation of the education system to address the needs of the local population. The findings reveal that post-colonial educational reforms in Zimbabwe remain cosmetic and without meaningful thrust to assist in the socio-economic development and success of the once underprivileged. The study concludes that post-colonial education in Zimbabwe and other African states despite more than four decades of reforming the education system, the plight of the ordinary graduate seems little improved. It recommends that post-colonial states in Africa must interrogate the central purpose of education, the intended audience, the way people learn, and the subject matter and how it should be organised and presented. The study contributes to the topical debate on the need to transform the African education systems and their curricula in response to the decolonialisation agenda in the Global South.