Towards a more socially just university education in Zimbabwe: Looking at issues through an eclectic theoretical lens

Ishmael Jeko
Midlands State University, Zimbabwe

Quality education (SDG4) is catalytically connected to the attainment of all the other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with social justice being regarded as a critical anchor value for structuring quality education systems. The 2030 sustainable development agenda is instrumentally leveraged on a socially just education system which guarantees access, inclusion, participation and recognition of all human beings so as to lead to generalized well-being. This new international thrust towards development presents an opportunity for countries in the global south to re-align their education systems with principles of social justice so that they can redirect themselves onto an inclusive and equitable development trajectories. Zimbabwe is one such country in the south which pursued an education reform agenda intended to redress persisting colonial injustices and inequalities, largely focusing on the primary and secondary education. However, not much has been done yet to deal with social injustice in university education, yet universities arguably play a critical role in developing and enhancing appropriate capabilities so that students can attain what their valued beings and doings. Employing an eclectic theoretical lens, this article critically analyses forms, nature and implications of social injustices in the university education system in Zimbabwe so as to facilitate ameliorative engagement with such issues in policy contexts. The paper argues that university spaces and curricula in Zimbabwe need to be fundamentally reconfigured in line with values of social justice so that the university experience can enable optimal flourishing of differently gendered, racialized and classed students.