‘Include President’s legacy in school syllabi’

Respected educationist Professor Caiphas Nziramasanga says the school curriculum should include more content on Zimbabwe’s nationalists, principally President Mugabe.

Prof Nziramasanga — in an interview with The Sunday Mail — said it was a “serious problem” that the present syllabi are silent on the 21st February Movement and the iconic role nationalists played in shaping the country.

“We have a serious problem when it comes to that. There is no mention whatsoever in our syllabus of the 21st February Movement. I believe that we should have a definitive topic on the Movement, especially for subjects such as social studies or history.”

Referring to the 1999 Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Education and Training Report, which he helped compile as Chair, he said: “In Chapter 27 and Chapter 28 of that report, in the section on Citizenship studies, we made such a recommendation that there should be definitive topics about our leaders such as President Mugabe and what he stands for. We hope that those who are working on the curriculum review can be able to include such content.

“If you look at American studies, they celebrate their heroes and they have topics specifically on Abraham Lincoln (for instance). When it comes to us, we seem to be afraid of honouring our own people. I do not see a problem with having a specific topic about the 21st February Movement as part of our syllabus.”