Online Reporter
Fidelis Munyoro
Chief Court Reporter
The High Court has dismissed an application by UNICAF University seeking to overturn the Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education (ZIMCHE)’s refusal to renew its provisional registration licence.
Justice Christopher Dube-Banda last week found that the council’s decision was lawful, reasonable and aligned with the provisions of the Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education Act.
UNICAF, an international university headquartered in Cyprus, was provisionally registered by ZIMCHE in October 2019 for two years.
The registration was subject to conditions, including the development of an open distance electronic learning infrastructure, the accreditation of programmes and collaboration with the Zimbabwe Open University.
UNICAF applied for a renewal before the expiration of the provisional registration in October 2021, but ZIMCHE denied the application in January 2022, citing non-compliance with the initial conditions.
Following further engagements, UNICAF submitted another renewal application in March 2022, but this was also denied by ZIMCHE in November 2022.
In its decision, ZIMCHE stated that UNICAF had not demonstrated significant progress toward meeting the requirements for accreditation under Section 19 of the Act.
ZIMCHE highlighted governance issues, concerns over the alignment of academic programmes with Zimbabwe’s Heritage-Based Education Philosophy Education 5.0 policy, and the lack of evidence showing compliance with the conditions of the initial registration.
UNICAF challenged the decision, arguing that ZIMCHE’s refusal was irrational, biased and procedurally unfair.
The university claimed that its progress was hindered by external factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic and that the decision was based on criteria applicable to final accreditation rather than provisional registration.
The university sought an order compelling ZIMCHE to issue the license or deeming the license granted if ZIMCHE failed to comply.
ZIMCHE opposed the application, arguing that UNICAF had failed to meet the statutory requirements for provisional registration, including demonstrating compliance with conditions set during the initial registration.
The council maintained that provisional registration is not automatic and that UNICAF’s programmes were not suited to Zimbabwe’s educational policy framework.
ZIMCHE also noted that UNICAF had not tailored its programmes to meet the needs of the local context, as they were replicas of programmes offered in other countries.
Justice Dube-Banda dismissed UNICAF’s application, stating that ZIMCHE acted within its legal mandate and applied the law correctly.
The court emphasised that provisional registration could only be granted if an institution demonstrated the likelihood of meeting final accreditation requirements.
The court also rejected allegations of bias and irrationality, finding no evidence of improper conduct by ZIMCHE.
It further ruled that there was no unreasonable delay in making the decision.
The court upheld the principle of judicial deference, noting that decisions requiring specialised expertise, such as those involving higher education accreditation, should not be overridden by the courts unless they are unlawful or unreasonable.
Justice Dube – Banda stated that the application betrayed a misunderstanding of administrative law and ruled that the decision met the rationality and reasonableness tests.
On costs, the court declined ZIMCHE’s request for punitive costs, finding no basis for such an award.
The application was dismissed with ordinary costs awarded to ZIMCHE.
