The Association of University Teachers (AUT) has accused the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) of undermining educational standards in a desperate bid to thwart an ongoing lecturers’ strike.
The AUT alleges that UZ has begun hiring first-degree holders to teach undergraduate courses, an unprecedented move that they say flouts established norms of academic quality. The union said:
This clear violation of the law and paralyzing of educational standards is a stark reminder of the decay of our educational system.
The UZ, once a beacon of knowledge and excellence, has become a circus, where academic integrity is sacrificed at the altar of expediency.
The AUT further accuses the Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education (ZIMCHE), the regulatory authority, of failing to intervene.
The association claims ZIMCHE has ignored instances of lecturers from other institutions moonlighting at UZ, and of master’s degree holders teaching postgraduate (MA and MSc) classes as adjunct faculty, another alleged breach of academic standards.
The backdrop to this unrest is a long-running wage dispute. The AUT is demanding the restoration of salaries to pre-2018 levels, when junior lecturers earned US$2,250 per month.
The union argues that their struggle is not merely about pay but about protecting the integrity of Zimbabwe’s higher education system. The lecturers said:
Our struggle is not just about fair pay, but about the very soul of our education system. We will not let the UZ become a laughingstock, where academic standards are compromised, and students are shortchanged.
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