Chronicle Editor
Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter–
THE Catholic University of Zimbabwe (CUZ) has spread wings across Zimbabwe after opening an eighth satellite campus in Victoria Falls, in an effort to bring tertiary education closer to the people.
The institution came up with a 10-year strategic plan (2013-2023) whose objective was to grow enrolment to about 10 000, and open a campus at each of the church’s eight dioceses countrywide.
The Catholic Church has eight dioceses, each led by a bishop and these are Archdioceses of Bulawayo and Harare, dioceses of Hwange, Gweru, Gokwe, Chinhoyi, Mutare and Masvingo.
CUZ is a Catholic Church affiliated university established in 1999 in Harare with just over 200 pioneer students.
In keeping with the strategic plan, and also in line with Government’s policy of devolution and decentralisation, CUZ has opened satellite campuses in all the dioceses making it one of the few tertiary institutions that have several campuses around the country and closer to people.
CUZ uses the church’s premises countrywide with the main campus in Harare.
This dovetails with the Second Republic’s aspirations for human capital development as a priority area towards an innovation and knowledge driven economy that has specialised workforce, increased innovation for industrialisation and improved access and utilisation of advanced knowledge and technologies, as outlined in the National Development Strategy 1, a key implementation strategy towards Vision 2030.
CUZ latest campus will be housed at the Catholic Church run St Josephine Bakhita Primary School in Victoria Falls where lectures will be conducted until a full campus is built.
Victoria Falls is under Hwange Diocese.
Faculties on offer include Commerce, Innovation and Technology; Education, Social Sciences and Humanities; Theology, Ethics, Religious Studies and Philosophy, and Graduate Studies, Research and Innovation.
Short courses, diplomas, first and Master’s degrees, and post graduate diploma and degree programmes are offered while the first class of PhDs will graduate next year.
The University Vice Chancellor Professor Ranga Zinyemba said the institution has been growing over the last decade.
“When we started we had 280 students and we came up with a new strategy, the Catholic University of Zimbabwe Growth and Development Strategic plan (2013 to 2023). One of the key pillars of that strategy was to take the university to all the eight dioceses of the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe as at that time we were only in Harare.
“The idea was that by end of next year we should be in all the eight dioceses of in Zimbabwe and grown enrolment. Since we have done that, we have grown 10 times in numbers to over 2 500 students and we target 10 000.
“I am glad today to say Hwange Diocese is now part of the Catholic University of Zimbabwe because His Lordship Bishop Raphael Mabuza Ncube has given us the go ahead to make this announcement and even more special to say our campus or learning centre will be right here at St Josephine Bakhita Primary School,” said Prof Zinyemba in Victoria Falls.
He said registration will open on Monday next week.
Prof Zinyemba said lectures will immediately start at St Josephine Bakhita once students enrol, and the university had started the process of acquiring land from the local authority to build a proper campus.
“The idea of making the Catholic University a national university in all our eight dioceses and also making tertiary education available to people without having them travel to bigger cities, is part of our 10-year strategic plan.
“We have grown our student numbers by 10 times from 280 to over 2 000 and our campuses from one in Harare to eight. We have introduced a whole range of new courses which is part of the plan and we are grateful to bishops who have given us places to carry out our classes,” he said.
Once successful, this will be a second university to be physically in Victoria Falls after Zimbabwe Open University which already has a satellite campus while Lupane State University is working on building its premises before moving on site.
– @ncubeleon
Online Reporter