Online Reporter
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Herald Correspondent
ZIMBABWE is stepping up efforts to ratify two international conventions aimed at promoting the recognition of higher education qualifications across Africa and worldwide.
The move was hailed as “a strategic imperative” by Government officials at a high-level workshop held in Harare on Wednesday.
Speaking at the event, Chief Director for Human Capital and Skills Development in the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, Professor Norman Takaidza, underlined the urgency of adopting the Addis Ababa Convention and the UNESCO Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications.
“The ratification of the Addis Ababa and UNESCO Global Conventions is not simply a matter of compliance; it is a bold commitment to enhancing opportunity, strengthening credibility, and positioning our qualifications for global competitiveness,” Professor Takaidza told delegates at the workshop, which was organised by the Zimbabwe National Commission for UNESCO.
The forum brought together vice chancellors, Members of Parliament, Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education (ZIMCHE) officials, principals of higher education institutions, and professional bodies to build consensus around the ratification process.
Professor Takaidza stressed that ratifying these conventions aligns with President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Vision 2030, which seeks to transform Zimbabwe into an upper-middle-income society by 2030, anchored by a modern and competitive higher education sector.
“This is why ratification is not merely a formality but a strategic imperative,” he added, noting it will also support Zimbabwe’s Heritage-Based Education 5.0, which aims to produce graduates who are job creators.
The Addis Ababa Convention, adopted in 2014, provides a continental framework for the fair recognition of academic qualifications across Africa.
The UNESCO Global Convention, adopted in 2019, extends this platform globally, enabling easier academic mobility and mutual recognition.
Although Zimbabwe boasts a robust quality assurance system through ZIMCHE, it has yet to ratify either convention.
Fourteen African countries, including South Africa, Mauritius, and Togo, have already ratified the Addis Ababa Convention, which entered into force in December 2019.
Professor Takaidza reassured stakeholders that these conventions would not result in uniformity, but rather comparability:
“They allow each country to maintain its unique educational identity while participating in a shared framework of trust, cooperation, and mutual recognition.”
