The Sunday Mail
Dr Lazarus Dokora
In this second instalment on the school curriculum review, I take a privileged article from educationist and National Hero Dr Sikhanyiso “Duke” Ndlovu.
Dr Ndlovu, who was the founder of the Zimbabwe Distance Education College (ZDECO), wrote to me during the process of reviewing our national curriculum for primary and secondary education.
He provided his contribution.
This article gives perspective from the point of view of the liberation struggle, particularly as located in Zambia, in the case of Zapu.
The experimental education work by stalwarts of the liberation struggle should not and did not dissipate with independence in 1980.
Below is what Dr Ndlovu wrote to me.
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A great deal has been said and written about our education in Zimbabwe and strides to achieving the number one status in Africa.
We seem to look at the tree, its branches, leaves and fruits without looking at its roots, their nourishment and watering to bring it to where it is.
Our education system has its roots in the colonial period.
There were two education systems.
The European Education System had its own ministry and a separate African Education Department.
The Africans had an age limit such that if they turned 14 years old, they would not proceed to Standard Six. For Standard Six, there were what were called three departmental subjects — English, Arithmetic and Geography.
If a student failed any of these three subjects, he or she was regarded as having failed Standard Six. Most schools were under missionaries.
After Standard Six, one would either do Primary Lower Teacher Training (as what President Mugabe did at Kutama School) or one would work at the mission as a messenger or general hand.
Most Zimbabweans did UJZ by correspondence.
There were few Mission Secondary Schools like Empandeni, Waddilove, Gokomere and Goromonzi.
We revived the Rhodesian curriculum and only added unexamined areas of African Nationalism according to Kwame Nkrumahism of Ghana.
Cde Mugabe taught at Empandeni, Dadaya, and Hope Fountain where he unofficially added African Nationalism in the syllabus.
Senator Angeline Masuku — one of Cde Mugabe’s students at Hope Fountain — can attest to this. Our curriculum review must emulate founding teachers of nationalism.
When nationalist consciousness was catching fire, teachers were either arrested or dismissed for imparting the political consciousness to pupils.
In Highfield during the course of 1962, Josiah Chinamano and Nevison Mukanyanga Nyashanu, both National Heroes, started community schools for children displaced from schools and dismissed teachers.
I established similar community schools in Mpopoma, Bulawayo and engaged Professor Thomas Dube and others to teach.
At the same time, I was a secret commander of Umgandane Zapu Underground Urban Guerilla Warfare known as Umgandane under the pseudo name of General Hokoyo.
Our education programme in Bulawayo was banned as it was said to be poisonous to the Africans.
Other surviving members under my command are Joshua Dube, Abby Mpofu, Maisa, Canaan Ncube, Lenshina and Sidingani.
I was also a social worker under the Bulawayo City Council.
I was arrested and imprisoned at Fife Street Central Prison after which I was sent to Gonakudzingwa Detention Camp near Portuguese Border at Villar Salazar, now named Maripata.
After some days, my lawyer Leo Barron located me at Fife Street Prison before I secretly told my wife, Dr Rose, where I was imprisoned.
She came to see me once and the following day, I was removed at midnight and taken by a police jeep to a railway siding known as Orell near Shabani Mine, some 200 kilometers away.
From there, I was taken to Gonakudzingwa by train at night.
There I found Cdes Joshua Nkomo, Musika, Chinamano and his wife, Ruth, Dan Madzimbamutu, Chief Mangwende, Stanislaus Marembo, Gunduza Makhatini, Jin Ntunta, Willie Musarurwa, CCG Ngcebetsha, Boyson Muguni, and Jane Ngwenya.
Many other detainees found us there in Camp One and when the numbers came to 1 000, others were taken to Camp 2, Camp 3 and Camp 4, which were for Indians like Sulman Meta, NK Naick, Naran and others.
You might say, “What does this have to do with education?”
Here we come. We established an Education Board chaired by Dr Nkomo with Chinamano as secretary of the board, CCG Ngcebetsha and Samuel Munodawafa as committee members and Nevison Mukanyanga Nyashanu as my deputy.
I was the organising secretary of the Gonakudzingwa Education Programme for political detainees and got course material from the United Kingdom from the Methodist Church, arranged by Rev Hawkins and by the Fabian Society.
Course materials were sent to Gonakudzingwa and some books and blackboards came from Ranch House College in Harare, sent by Mr and Mrs Haddon.
We also got support from Sir Garfield Todd who came with his daughter, Judy, with food and educational materials.
At one time, all the education materials were confiscated by the police who claimed that Sikhanyiso had started a University of Crime and Communism at Gonakudzingwa.
Josiah Chinamano replied, setting the record straight.
The books and learning materials were returned after intervention by Dr Nkomo.
Some detainees complained to Dr Nkomo that Sikhanyiso was going to make their detention prolonged by organising the education programme, which Smith called a University of Crime, but Dr Nkomo, Chinamano and CCG Ngcebetsha encouraged me to continue.
For correspondence, I had a typewriter which I used to type some lesson materials after 11 pm when police had retired to their camps at Villa Salazar.
I would cover the typewriter with plastics and bury it in a hole near a tree after finishing typing so that the police could not see it during the day.
I got teachers from the University of Rhodesia who had been expelled such as Maluleke, the brother to the former Masvingo Governor and he became Dr Nkomo’s Shangani translator later.
I remember Tikolahina.
Ilizwe ngelethu, nyika ndeyedu.
Trinos Makombe who became Governor of the Midlands after Independence, Samuel Munodawafa, and the then Zapu chair taught Adult Education.
My students such as Jane Ngwenya, who is still alive, passed her ‘O’ Levels while in detention.
We also had Political Prison Graduates.
Boyson Mguni did his BA under Unisa and Willy Musarurwa did BA Sociology.
Many detainees passed ‘O’ Level.
We looked at the Rhodesian curriculum and found it lacking in business, science and practical subjects.
The history was European and British, covering Winston Churchill, George Washington and Bismarck of Germany and the British Constitution.
We added political liberation history, land and agriculture.
That is why we said, “Mwana wevhu, Umntwana womhlabathi”.
You can see that curriculum review did not start with the Nziramasanga Commission or the present curriculum review by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.
After my release from Gonakudzingwa in 1965, I was put under house arrest.
I later escaped and crossed the border into Zambia with instruction from Dr Nkomo and his Zapu executive to meet the external Zapu leadership and convey the word that military organisation and training must intensify.
I was met at Lusaka Train Station by Akim Ndlovu who became the first Zipra Commander and Dumiso Dabengwa who became our Zipra Intelligence Chief.
I was granted leave from Zapu to go and study at Syracuse University in the US.
After my doctorate in 1976, I came back to join the liberation struggle.
Again you might say, “What has this to do with education?”
In Zimbabwe, schools were closed down by Zipra fighters for recruitment and by teachers themselves.
Teachers and students were marched out to Botswana at Silebi Phikwe and at other outlets to Zambia Holding Camps.
Those fit for training were selected and established at Nampundu, JZ, Victory Camp VC, Freedom Camp, Mukushi and others in Silowezi.
Smith’s propaganda went all over the world that Dr Nkomo was starving school children in camps and depriving them of education.
At that time, I had returned from my doctoral studies at Syracuse University.
Dr Nkomo called me at Zimbabwe House and asked me to start a school in the Zapu camps similar to the one we had started in Gonakudzingwa Detention Camp, but this one would be sensitive as it would involve other Zipra organs and personnel.
Dr Nkomo was chairman, Chinamano was secretary for education and I the principal and organising secretary.
Matshaka was my deputy, while Makone was the director, deputised by Obert Matshalaga.
Zapu Victoria Camp Girls School,
Zambia February 21, 1979
We introduced pure sciences, chemistry, physics, mathematics and biology rather than general science. For chemistry, we drilled holes on pieces of wood to hold test tubes.
At JZ, we had a small boy who manufactured a gun, an AK47, which could shoot, but he was too short and too young to be sent for military training.
He tested the gun on a tree and it burst the tree bucks.
We trained inventors.
We set up a curriculum development committee chaired by myself, deputised by Tando Gwebu from the University of Zambia. Other members were Cde Matshaka, Commissar Professor Malandu, Amon Jurira for lands and production (exemplified by the FC arm of agric and piggery, leather work), Joseph Dupute for music, and Nare the conductor of LMG.
We had no Rhodesian syllabus and used Zambian London examinations.
We provided academic sciences and social science, which included our culture, Ubuntu, which President Kaunda called humanism and unity — Tiyende Pamozi.
Practical education was shown by our Kafue secretarial division, which we moved to VC after intelligence came about the pending bombing of Kafue camps.
Education and curriculum in
Zimbabwe after independence
After the establishment of the first national unity government, I embarked on establishing the Zimbabwe Distance Education College (Zdeco) in September 1980.
I was still concerned with the Rhodesian education curriculum.
Dr Dzingai Mutumbuka, who was responsible for education in Zanu in Mozambique, became the Minister of Education, Sports and Culture, while I was involved in education in Zambia.
There was no ministry of higher and tertiary education.
Then, technical and vocational education was under polytechnics. Only two were there, with one university.
I suggested the introduction of distance education in Government to Dzingai Mutumbuka.
He said his concern at that time was to build schools and open those that had been closed.
Dr Fredrick Shava appointed a committee which conducted needs assessment for training.
I then established Zdeco that influenced an education and curriculum review and development of new curriculum for our new nation.
In 1981, I went back to Dr Mutumbuka about the curriculum, which was still colonial. He set up a team for the establishment of education with production.
A board consisting of trainers from Zapu and Zanu was set up.
From Zapu, we had Mothobi Roma Vungunza Nyathi who used to be our Zapu senior researcher.
Zimbabwe curriculum review in 1982
Zimfep was established in 1982.
Dr Mutumbuka agreed to be guest of honour at the Zdeco convened workshop on curriculum review at Parklane Hotel, which is now Dura GMB House.
Tertiary education was under the Ministry of Labour then.
Dr Fredrick Shava, the then Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, sent his permanent secretary, Dr Ibbo Mandaza.
Other participants were Dr John Daniels from Canada University, the Canada Pro-Vice Chancellor, who had organised the Conference of International Council for Correspondence Education and elected its president in Vancouver University in Canada, Dr Joe Ansere of Ghana and heads of correspondence education in Zimbabwe and Dr Richard Siachiwena of the University of Zambia.
A thorough review of the Zimbabwe education curriculum was made and the report submitted to the minister.
When Zimbabwe established its own examinations board — the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council — and localised our examinations, that was the time to implement curriculum changes.
President Robert Mugabe, after providing resources for the expansion of education tremendously, was concerned about the continued colonial education system, which was more academic without skills for life and ubuntu, hunhu.
The World Bank even objected to the funding of education expansion.
He then appointed the Nziramasanga Commission, which made important recommendations for the provision of a three pathway system.
The academic, vocational and business subjects — business, accounts and agriculture — were not recognised as ‘O’ Level subjects.
When a pupil was ill-disciplined in class, his or her punishment would be to work in the garden without lunch.
So, this was meant for students to hate working on the land. The Dr Nziramasanga and Dr Griffith Malaba Commission’s recommendations have not been implemented.
The recommendations needed budget support to implement and the cooperation of the Higher Education Ministry.
There are new educational developments such as ICT and scientific manufacturing.
The new Zimbabwe education blueprint
The new Zimbabwe Education Blueprint (2015-2022) is yet again an important programme that should take into account the historical curriculum developments and reviews.
It must be noted that curriculum is not static, but is a dynamic continuum.
The inclusion of ICT and e-learning are very important as the world has become a global village.
Again, it was the President’s vision to embark on the School Computerisation Programme.
Other important areas for curriculum are the liberation history.
The curriculum review should not work in isolation of the psychomotor domains and other domains such as the cognitive and affective domains.
History of the liberation struggle and contributions by our National Heroes is of paramount importance hence books about the struggle should be commissioned and published so as to bequeath our future leaders with information about the founding values of their nation.
