Source: New regional school will ease access for rural students
A new university is being established in Zimbabwe in honour of the country’s former prime minister who presided over the country just before it attained its independence on 18 April 1980. The Bishop Abel Tendekai Muzorewa University will be the fifth university in Zimbabwe’s Manicaland province.
A nationalist leader and Zimbabwe’s first black United Methodist Church pastor, Muzorewa was a leading figure in the country’s struggle for majority rule, serving as the head of the United African National Council political party. He engaged in peace talks with Ian Smith, Rhodesia’s last white prime minister, as the country transitioned to majority rule.
In 1979, Muzorewa was elected prime minister of the short-lived Republic of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia. He held this role for less than a year before Robert Mugabe was swept to power in elections that led to the country’s independence.
Educated at Central Methodist University in Fayette, Missouri, in the United States (US), he is seen by some as a national hero but was sidelined by Mugabe, who regarded him as an opportunist and a sell-out for having reached an “internal settlement” with Smith, as others continued to wage an armed struggle which led to Zimbabwe’s independence.
The Bishop Abel Tendekai Muzorewa University is a private institution run by the Bishop AT Muzorewa Evangelism Foundation (BATMEF), which was founded in 2005. The construction project is set to start in December 2025 on land donated by the local community in which the late Muzorewa conducted some of his evangelism work.
Greater access to education
Misheck Mugadza, the provincial affairs minister for Manicaland province, told University World News that the government had cleared the establishment of the university in his province.
“We are having this university, and this will take the number of universities in the province to five. Two more universities are being established by churches in Manicaland: Africa University and Manicaland State University of Applied Sciences,” he said.
When asked about employment in a province with five universities, he mentioned that the province has 414 secondary schools releasing thousands of students each year who seek tertiary education. “Our economy is booming with new investment like value-adding factories and plants. These and the tourism boom all create employment,” Mugadza said.
Logistical challenges
Ernest Muzorewa, the new university’s board chair and the late bishop’s younger brother, told Zimbabwe’s state-run newspaper The Herald that the first group of students will enrol in August 2026. Short courses will be offered from January, the newspaper reported.
He said the university will start with five faculties: agriculture and environmental sciences, business development studies, theology and community engagements, healing and allied sciences, and computer sciences and information systems.
While the main campus is under construction, temporary facilities, such as the United Methodist Church offices, will be used. The university will be affiliated with Muzorewa’s former church.
“One of the most immediate and profound benefits of the university is the expansion of access to higher education. For decades, students from Rusape and Makoni districts have had to travel to distant cities such as Mutare, Harare, or Bulawayo to pursue university studies, often at great financial and emotional cost.
“The Bishop Abel Tendekai Muzorewa University will eliminate this barrier by offering local access to tertiary education, thereby increasing enrolment rates and reducing dropout rates caused by logistical challenges,” Muzorewa said.
Focus on regional needs, strengths
“The university is expected to tailor its academic programmes to reflect the needs and strengths of the region, with a focus on agriculture, education, business and environmental sciences. This alignment will ensure that graduates are equipped with practical skills that directly contribute to the development of their communities.”
The paper also quoted the country’s defence minister, Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, as saying that Muzorewa facilitated her first trip to the US. “His generosity provided me with a scholarship to obtain a bachelor degree in America,” she said.
In 2021, Central Methodist University posthumously honoured Muzorewa in its Hall of Honor for alumni: “Muzorewa was a peacemaker, national unifier, politician, author, and preacher. He was popularly elected in 1979 to lead his nation of Zimbabwe (formerly the British colony called Rhodesia) through the nation’s political struggle for independence.”
Due to his leadership, Muzorewa preferred to relinquish his premiership after only six months rather than prolong the guerrilla war that ravaged the country.
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