AFRICA UNIVERSITY

(A United Methodist-Related Institution)

CHALLENGES IN ACCESSING AND ACQUIRING UNIVERSITY

EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE

BY

SAMUEL GWENZI

A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER IN HUMAN RIGHTS, PEACE

AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, PEACE, LEADERSHIP

AND GOVERNANCE

JUNE 2020

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 Abstract
Zimbabwe is also embedded in high rate of unemployment, poverty and lack of financial
resources from the government to support students with loans and grants. The Zimbabwe
populace, particularly prospective university students are faced with a plethora of challenges in
accessing and acquiring university education. The study sought to identify challenges faced by
students in acquiring and accessing university education in Zimbabwe and the University of
Zimbabwe was used as a case study. The researcher used both the qualitative research methods
in contacting the research and purposive sampling techniques was used to interview first year
students in the faculty of social science at UZ, the student representative assembly and leadership
of the Zimbabwe National Students Union. Interviews were held purposively and thirty eight
students were interviewed, twenty females and eighteen males chosen from different courses that
falls under the faculty of social science and focus group discussions were conducted with
respondents also chosen with the same criteria as interviews and thirty five participated and the
outcomes were recorded. Findings of the study indicate that financial constraints and university
entry requirements were the major economic challenges restricting access to university education
while the quota based system, attitude of applicants and ignorance were the standout social
factors hindering access to university education in Zimbabwe. The study also discovered that
there is need for resource mobilization, awareness, social research and lobbying and advocacy as
to improve access to tertiary education in Zimbabwe. The study thus recommends that civil
society groups cooperate in unearthing, exposing corruption and corruption awareness
sensitization workshops between college authorities and key stakeholders. Recommendations
include the engagement of civil society groups and cooperate to supplement government efforts
in financing and assisting vulnerable need students. The government must also broaden its
attention from achieving universal education to achieving universal tertiary education in its
Vision 2030 Agenda for socio-economic transformation. There is also need to strengthen higher
and tertiary education policy to ensure all deserving students acquire and access education. The
government and college administration should be at the center of solving societal challenges with
a shared vision by citizens to ensure equal access and affordable access to higher education.

Key words: Universal, Tertiary, Education, Acquiring and Accessing

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 Declaration

I declare that this dissertation is my original work except where sources have been cited and
acknowledged. The work has never been submitted, nor will it ever be submitted to another
university for the award of a degree.

Students Full Name Students Signature (Date)

Main Supervisor’s Full Name Main supervisor’s Signature (Date)

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 Copyright

No part of this dissertation may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or

transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise for scholarly purpose, without the prior written permission of the
author or of Africa University on behalf of the author.

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 Acknowledgements
I acknowledge the support and encouragement that was given by Miss Deliah Jeranyama who
lifted me up when it was difficult. I would like to thank her for the assistance she extended to
me. I am indebted to Zimbabwe State Universities’ students, staff and many others without
whose contribution, facilitation and understanding this research would have failed. My
appreciation also goes to Dr Mataruse for working closely with me to ensure the success of
my studies and my research project. All those who I interviewed and students who took time
off their work to respond to questionnaires are warmly acknowledged. I appreciate my study
compatriots, Tungamirai Nyamakura, Kudzai, and Kitsephile with whom we shared notes on
our research areas. I warmly acknowledge the companionship and encouragement from my
close friends and brothers. I am grateful and may God continuously bless them.

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Dedication

This research project is dedicated to the Daughters and Sons of the great country of Zimbabwe
and its ecologies that had to endure the odious struggles against poor leadership, injustices and
various abuses of state power. It is dedicated to those that continue to search and fight for an
Africa rooted in endogenous forms of understanding justice, political leadership as well as
development. This research is for those who strive for affordable and quality education in
Zimbabwe and seek self-determination, autonomous development and equality, just and noble
governance, leadership and fairness in seeking and applying human rights.

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 List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

AUREC Africa University Research Committee

SPSS Statistical Package of Social Sciences

UFID United Fund for International Development

USAID United States Agency for International Development

Table of
Contents

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.0 Introduction

Despite the debate on whether university education must be a target towards those willing and
are deemed to possess the ability to avail themselves of such opportunities, the Social demand
approach or whether it is a structured education system that quantify the required manpower in
terms of quantity. The Manpower requirement approach in relation to the prevailing economy or
that higher learning is an investment good which is profitable to the lucky receiver which is the
Cost benefit approach. Therefore there is no doubt that university education in Zimbabwe and
the world over is a universal good which men from different backgrounds strive to receive as a
life-long venture.

Education represents one of the most powerful instruments for reducing poverty and inequality
and lays foundation for sustainable economic growth World Bank, (2009). An adequate
investment in education that gives every citizen an opportunity to pursue university education
without restriction facilitate the achievement of most other development goals and increases the
probability that economic progress will be sustained USAID, (2005). Each year of schooling
increases individual output by 4-7 percent and countries that improve literacy rates by 20-30
percent have experienced increase in their gross domestic product (GDP) of 5-16 percent, Basic
Education Coalition, (2004). One major goal that derives from Zimbabwe’s philosophy of
education is the acquisition of appropriate skills and the development of mental, physical and
social abilities and competencies as equipment for the individual to live and contribute to the
development of the society.

However, in spite of the aforementioned benefits of university education and its attendant
multiplier gains, providing adequate access to university education for everyone in need of it is
still problematic in Zimbabwe. This represents a function of multiple challenges university
education faces in an attempt to widen access to the ever-increasing population demanding for it.
These challenges manifest more in the areas of funding, human capital resources, pedagogy,
quality assurance and relevance, curriculum reforms, attitudinal dispositions, among others.

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1.1 Background of the study

Throughout history, as nations have developed from medieval traditional societies to the much
industrialized societies that they are today, university education has been very instrumental in
driving development Kariwo, (2007). At independence the Zimbabwean government adopted a
deliberate policy of Education for all. The mandate of this policy was two-fold, it was meant to
address the issue of equality of educational opportunities and to address the manpower needs and
development of the country. The Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education was thus created to
address the critical skills shortage experienced in many economic sectors of the country.

Accordingly, university education would play a major role towards the realization of achieving
the manpower needs and objectives of Zimbabwe. The University of Zimbabwe (UZ), the only
state university at independence in 1989 could not cope with the demand for university education
which culminated to several stakeholders meetings comprising of politicians and civil servants to
deliberate on the need for a second university in the country and the specific type of university
this would be. The stakeholders expressed much enthusiasm and recommended the need for
extensive government support, materially, financially and infrastructure Nherera, (2000). These
meetings further recommended the formation of commissions to investigate the national problem
in detail. Two commissions were thus set up, namely the Williams Commission of 1981 and the
University of Zimbabwe Feasibility Study of 1986 Makhurane, (2000). The commissions again
recommended that there was growing need for the establishment of a second and many other
universities in the country. With the much needed support from student representative bodies like
the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) who lobbied for increased, affordable access
and equal opportunities to education for students from various backgrounds in Zimbabwe, the
transformation process began that led to the multiple university system we have in the country
today.

However, to this day, 39 years post-independence, with such perceived education transformation
and consistent pressure from student representative bodies and political masses, still the demand
for university education could not be met, particularly that of normal entry students who have
completed their high school studies and educationists who needed to upgrade their levels in order

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to improve on their management skills. In fact, Economic Structural Adjustment Programme
(ESAP) is widely blamed for having derailed the country’s university educational vision as it
inflicted financial challenges and poverty on families of prospective students Moyo, (2013).
According to Atbach, (2009) the result was most families choosing to send male students ahead
of female students to university thereby increasing the number of average male enrolment as
compared to their female counterparts. This is supported by Lumumba, (2008) who argues that
the gender inequality in University education is a serious reflection of a broader societal
structural inequality. Thus according to Canning and Chan, (2005), enrolment rates in university
education in Africa are by far the lowest especially in Zimbabwe.

Thus, the various challenges facing state university education institutions in Zimbabwe and most
developing countries of the world especially in areas of effective, efficient productive function,
widening of access and participation, have dwarfed the various visions and missions of these
institutions Zvobgo, (2014). The funding dilemma, massification of higher education, curriculum
and pedagogical deficiencies, quality assurance bottlenecks, outdated technologies for learning,
teaching and research, lack of academic freedom and autonomy, weak knowledge creation,
limited access and regional disparities, corruption and inefficiency, political interference among
other problems have ambushed higher education and held it hostage in most countries of the
world especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia ,Nepachem, (2009).

This study observes that the aforementioned problems have negatively impacted on access and
meaningful participation of citizens in university education. In a globalized-knowledge based
economy therefore, this study seeks to institute action plans geared towards strategizing
university education for optimal performance. Henceforth this paper seeks one to clearly
interrogate the challenges that are being faced in assessing and acquiring university education
with special reference to the University of Zimbabwe.

1.2 Statement of the problem

Higher education in Zimbabwe faces challenges which include dropouts, high tuition and
accommodation fees, under funding, staff shortages and economic decline, foreign currency
shortages, hyper- inflation, and large public debt. Zimbabwe is also embedded in high rate of
unemployment, poverty and lack of financial resources from the government to support students

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with loans and grants. The Zimbabwe populace, particularly prospective university students are
faced with a plethora of challenges in pursuing university education. The reason being lack of
funding, bottle necked entry requirements, corruption and lack of access to information
especially to students who lives in remote rural areas. These challenges are mainly evident in
areas of effective, efficient productive function, widening of access and participation, and have
then dwarfed the visions and missions of both students pursuing university education and
institutions proving it. It is the aim of this study to explore these challenges faced by students in
Zimbabwe in accessing and acquiring university education as evidenced by the number of new
enrolled students at the University of Zimbabwe per year in each and every faculty as compared
to the number of students who finished their advanced level students per year.

Government funding, limited resources to fund prospective students, widening gap between the
urban dwellers and rural dwellers in information dissemination and access to information about
entry requirements, fees structures, and accommodation and education resources such as books,
computers and the internet remain the major problem to university students. There is also
restricted entry to university education barring those with less A' level points. Favoritism and
political interference among other problems have ambushed university education at the
University of Zimbabwe and created a gap for those who want to acquire it. Many attempts have
been initiated to try and solve these problems which include the establishment of other
universities in the country since 1980 to date through a multi university education system
recommended by the Williams Commission of 1981 and the University of Zimbabwe Feasibility
Study of 1986 but the problems still persists. Henceforth the research will seek to show how
these challenges affects students from different background in accessing and acquiring education
at the University of Zimbabwe. Not many studies have linked the challenges faced by students in
accessing and acquiring education at the University of Zimbabwe. Hence, this study is an attempt
to address this gap.

1.3 Research Objectives

The general objective of this study is to identify the challenges facing students in their pursuit for
higher education in Zimbabwe.

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 i. To assess enrollment challenges faced by students in pursuit of university education
at the University of Zimbabwe
ii. To identify government funded education support schemes available for students at
University of Zimbabwe.
iii. To evaluate the availability and access to education opportunities at the University of
Zimbabwe.
iv. To establish strategies that can best improve access to university education in
Zimbabwe.
1.4 Research Questions

The overarching research question of this study is to examine the challenges by students in
accessing and acquiring education at the University of Zimbabwe. This means investigating into
the prevailing encounters in accessing and acquiring education in Zimbabwe. Hence, the
following supplementary questions were examined:

i. What are the enrollments challenges facing students pursuing university education at
the University of Zimbabwe?
ii. Which government funded education support schemes are available for students at the
University of Zimbabwe?
iii. How available are opportunities for university education at the University of
Zimbabwe?
iv. Which strategies can best improve access to university education in Zimbabwe?
1.5 Assumptions

This study has been carried out under the assumption that accessing and acquiring university
education in Zimbabwe is being so difficult to students who had finished their advanced level
studies and the few who has managed to be registered in difference faculties in state universities.
University education is the key to socio economic and political development in the country,
hence this study assume that the challenges faced in accessing and acquiring education in
Zimbabwe are leading to the crisis prevalence in the country and is also as a result of social,
economic and political instability in the country. The researcher also assumed that there are
unique challenges being experienced in accessing and acquiring university education at the
University of Zimbabwe.

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1.6 Significance of the study

This study could contribute to literature on factors hindering increased access to university
education in Zimbabwe. Findings could contribute towards crafting education policies that could
improve access to university education for all citizens. The researcher hopes that the study will
assist deans of students, policymakers and university institution’s administrators. The deans of
students would be able to know the barriers to enrollment of students at their institutions.
Policymakers would revise their policies when it comes to entry requirements and legislations
that have a bearing to the advancement of academic freedom. Other stakeholders could know the
importance of university education in Zimbabwe and could increase participation.

1.7 Delimitations

This research study mainly focuses on the challenges facing students in accessing and acquiring
university education in Zimbabwe and all other factors inhibiting access to university education.
The researcher limits the study to state universities and will focus on University of Zimbabwe as
its case study. The study will be confined on the assessment of challenges faced in assessing and
acquiring education at the University of Zimbabwe. The study mainly targeted freshman students
from different faculties at the University of Zimbabwe in what challenges they had encountered
in accessing education and the student representative body in challenges facing students in
acquiring education as they are the main recipients of the problems faced by students. The study
will therefore inhibits itself in first year students in the faculty of social science and current
members of the Student Representative Assembly.

1.8 Limitations of the study

The study only focused on state universities in Zimbabwe. The difference in location, religion,
culture prevailing in the areas in which other state universities are located may limit the
generalization of the study’s findings as some challenges may strictly apply as a subject of the
aforementioned case. The major limitation therefore is that the generalization of the research
findings at UZ may require cautiousness due to the quality of education, social and political
influence among other factors that may be responsible for the variations in management and
performance fluctuations. Therefore, the results of the study in one state university may not have
universal application in other universities, even if the country of study is the same.

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1.9 Summary

The chapter explored the background of the study in which the circumstances surrounding the
evolution of university education in Zimbabwe were articulated. Significant attention was given
to the background of the university education ministry as a public pillar mandated to improve
literacy in the country. Circumstances developing to the existence of university education
enrollment challenges facing students in Zimbabwe were closely described. A problem statement
was formulated in which the problem under study, the affected population and the gap in
knowledge were further exposed. Research objectives were crafted from which research
questions were also formulated. The chapter also highlighted the scope of the study in which
geographical, conceptual and time delimitations were detailed. The significance of the study
identified major beneficiaries of this study, among them the Ministry of Tertiary Education, the
researcher himself and Literature in the field under study. The chapter also reviewed other key
sections such as study assumptions. The next chapter will focus on related literature, which is
important in ascertaining the contributions of various schools of thought and other authors to the
area under study.

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CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 Introduction

This chapter seeks to highlight and discuss work of other scholars and relates it to this study of
the right to university education in Zimbabwe. It focuses on scrutinizing factors that inhibit
access to university education in Zimbabwe. In this chapter the writer relates a conceptual
framework to the problem being investigated. The accessibility of university education has been
analyzed by United Nation and Universal declaration of human rights as the idea of attainment
that reflects and emphasize on the humans right to gain education Burke, (2013). Related
literature on the hindrances to university education will also be examined in the Zimbabwean
context. Social- economic issues, gender and discrimination issues that hinder university access
by Advanced-Level high achievers is examined, Kinyajui, (2007).The related literature review
serve to position the present study on how it contributes, advances, refines, or revises what is
already known on factors that hinder increased access to university education by Advanced-
Level high achieving certificate holders.

2.2 Conceptual Framework

Needs-based development approaches to education have, to date, failed to achieve the Education
for All goals. Rights based approach is inclusive and provides a common language for
partnership, a rights-based approach although certainly not without tensions and challenges has
the potential to contribute to the attainment of the goals of governments, parents and children.
Girl’s right to education, for example, can be achieved more effectively if measures are also
implemented to address their rights to freedom from discrimination, protection from exploitative
labour, physical violence and sexual abuse, and access to an adequate standard of living. Equally,
the right to education is instrumental in the realization of other rights. Research indicates, for

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example, that one additional year of schooling for 1,000 a woman helps prevent two maternal
deaths.

2.2.1 The Rights-based Approach to University Education

The UN Statement of Common Understanding elaborates what is understood to be a rights-based
approach to development cooperation and development programming. It emphasizes that all
programs of development cooperation, policies and technical assistance should further the
realization of human rights, and therefore that human rights principles and standards should
guide all phases of the programming process Dzvimbo, (2000). The following elements are
necessary, specific and unique to a rights-based approach and can be used for policy and
programming in the education sector. Assessment and analysis in identifying the claims of
human rights in education and the corresponding obligations of governments, as well as the
immediate, underlying and structural causes of the non-realization of rights. Strategies are then
developed to build those capacities. Programs monitor and evaluate both the outcomes and
processes, guided by human rights standards and principles. Programming is informed by the
recommendations of international human rights bodies and mechanisms. In addition, many
elements of good programming practice are essential within a rights-based approach. Overall,
then, the required steps are situation assessment and analysis, assessing capacity for
implementation, program planning, design and implementation, Monitoring and evaluation.

Children, young people and other learners, including those who are poor, in human rights based
approach should be recognized as key actors in their own education and development rather than
as passive beneficiaries of services and transfers of commodities. Also, children and other
learners, including those who are poor, are subjects of rights with ‘claims to’ education and
‘claims from’ duty bearers. Rights-based education programming should therefore develop the
capacities of children, young people, their parents and other learners to claim their rights. Human
rights education is an important instrument in empowering people to understand, claim and
realize their rights.

Therefore the approach ensures that participation is crucial, both as an end and a means.
Participation does not mean that ‘they’ participate in ‘our’ education program, but rather that we
all participate in meeting the learning needs identified. Participation is a human right enshrined
in many conventions. In a rights-based approach to education, participation is both a necessary

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process and an outcome. In good programming, empowerment is important, but it is not a
strategy. Empowerment may be an aspect of any strategy, such as advocacy, capacity-building or
service delivery. A rights-based approach, which implies dignity and respect for the individual,
acknowledges that empowerment is both a necessary strategy and a goal. Emphasis is placed on
promoting opportunities to obtain remedies for grievances through both formal and informal
justice mechanisms. In good programming, monitoring of outcome and processes, as well as
actual use of information for decision-making at all levels of education, is very important. A
rights-based approach implies accountability of those with duties or obligations in fulfilling,
respecting and protecting the right to education.

In good programming, stakeholder analysis is very useful for the development and evaluation of
education programs because it identifies clear accountabilities in the community and society.
Most stakeholders in education are also duty bearers. An important step in a rights-based
approach is to identify the key relations between claim-holders and duty bearers. This is similar
to, but goes beyond, stakeholder analysis. The relationship between claims and duties implies
clear accountabilities, the commitments made under human rights treaties are entitlements, not
promises or charity Chetsanga, (2000). Development assistance must be the result of those
international obligations. In good programming, education programs should respond to basic
needs of children and other people, with a focus on vulnerable groups. Local ownership is
important, and development support from outside should always build on existing capabilities.

Poverty elimination and disparity reduction should be long-term goals in all education
development efforts. Education programs should respond to need but must also take account of
the rights of children, young people and other learners. Stakeholders in education should have an
ownership of education programs as a right, rather than an option. The right to education is a
means to reduce disparity and poverty. Education programming should therefore articulate the
explicit linkages between proposed actions and their relationship to reducing disparities and
eliminating poverty and injustice. This may involve both institutional and legal reform. Human
rights standards provide tools and legitimacy for advocacy for change.

In good programming, education programs should be developed on the basis of a situation

analysis that identifies priority problems and their immediate, underlying and basic causes,
which should be addressed either simultaneously or in sequence. A rights-based approach to

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education requires that underlying causes of poverty and inequality be addressed. The
indivisibility of human rights also emphasizes simultaneous attention to causes at all levels. In
good programming, setting goals is important, and the necessity for scaling up should be
considered at the planning stage. Efforts should be made to ensure that positive changes are
sustainable and sustained. This includes environmental sustainability. The realization of rights-
based education requires both the achievement of desirable outcomes and achieving them
through a process that reflects human rights values. A rights-based approach to education calls
for simultaneous attention to outcomes and processes. A shift of focus is needed away from
service delivery towards capacity development and advocacy.

2.2.2 Rights-based Approach Implementation related challenges

In a rights based approach to education founded on principles of universality and equity, there
are inevitable tensions that arise in the process of implementation founded on principles of
universality and equity, there are inevitable tensions that arise in the process of implementation
Some derive from insufficient understanding of the concept of rights or the potential strategies
that can be adopted to resolve them. Rights-based approach to programming is not a magic
wand. It does not provide simple solutions to challenges that have proved intractable for many
years. While providing a principled framework and a methodology for its application, it can also
expose tensions, real or apparent, between different rights, among rights holders, and between
rights and responsibilities. There are, then, significant and sometimes competing expectations of
the education system – from governments that are providing the legal and administrative
framework and funding, from parents responsible for their children’s upbringing and from
children themselves as rights holders. Some expectations are common to all: economic success,
reinforcement of values and social standing. However, the fact that governments are concerned
with the wider society and parents with their individual child can and does create significant
tensions in the education agenda.

2.3 Historical Analysis to the Access of University Education in Africa

Banya, (2000) posits that the educational policy in Zimbabwe has made remarkable achievement,
especially in providing secondary education. However more should be researched and
investigated on factors contributing to low access to university education in Zimbabwe.
Dzvimbo, (2000) , observes that there are many factors that influenced low access to university

xix
education in Zimbabwe. These factors may include historical factors, political factors,
sociological factors and economic aspects. It must be highlighted again in this study that one of
the Second Chimurenga causes was unfair access to university education Zvobgo, ( 2014). This
unfairness led young men and women to take up arms to fight against the oppressive systems.
The above is supported by Zvobgo, (1996) who says that the Zimbabwean educational policy
was crafted and forged in the heart of the liberation struggle and one of the aims and objectives
of the struggle was to remove barriers so as to access university education in Zimbabwe.
Relevant to my study is that Zimbabwe is education system is a result of colonization therefore
having our home grown access policy of education like STEM may move the country a step
forward.

In an attempt to analyze the factors that were at play in the policy making process in Zimbabwe,
there are colonial and post-colonial influences that must be taken into consideration Chetsanga,
(2003).The government education policy was shaped by scientific socialism which was a choice.
The new dispensation is seeking equity and redistribution of resources to achieve its goals. This
present government had great challenges to redress the past Daniel (1997). The major policies
adopted in Zimbabwe were to widen access through mass education. In this research it is critical
to point out that there is a glass ceiling which needs to be broken by academics and scholars on
factors hindering increased access to university education in Zimbabwe.

The first challenge of the Zimbabwean government was to fill the skill gap caused by the exodus
of skilled whites Gaidzanwa, (1992). Many skilled whites left the country before and after
independence leaving Zimbabwe with human resources who did not have craft literacy and craft
competence to provide services. Due to these challenges in Zimbabwe there was need to quickly
train indigenous people to improve the local labor market Zvobgo, (2000). Relevant to my study
is the fact that Zimbabwe needs skilled manpower from universities to fill the positions left by
the skilled whites. The major issue in this research is that the commitment by the Zimbabwean
government to provide high school education should be the same commitment to provide access
to university education. The Advanced-level high achievers are facing financial challenges in
order to access university education. Because of these huddles many Advanced-levels high
achievers are having very little choice as a result they are enrolling in institutions of teaching and
polytechnics.

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Nyakudyara, (2011) claims that it was not until 1987 that the then Vice Chancellor of the
University of Zimbabwe, Walter Kamba who discussed with his friends the necessity of
approaching government about setting up a feasibility study on establishing a second university
campus. Kanyongo, (2005) maintains that a recommendation was made to the then Minister of
Education on the basis of manpower requirements for economic growth and of the increasing
number of well qualified A- level school leavers. University expansion was not only justified but
was also a necessity; hence, National University of Science and Technology opened its doors in
May 1991. Chivore, (2006), commented by saying the day to day lives of the people of
Zimbabwe like any other formerly colonized society, are defined by their past history as
colonialized people often in ways that are subtle. These countries which got their independence
from colonial masters do have a long way to go in terms of access to university. This research
sought to explore the barriers hindering access to university education in Zimbabwe.

The Zimbabwe’s education system is a result of internal and external influences. Therefore, to
fully comprehend and appreciate issues of access to university education and challenges there is
need to critically explore the history of education and how it shapes much of the post-colonial
education system in Zimbabwe. Zvobgo, (1996) claims that the Zimbabwe’s experiences in
restructuring education reforms are partly embedded in the colonial legacy. Zimbabwe was under
the colonial rule for over 100 years and this is still affecting the nation, especially on access to
university because there was discrimination in education in terms of infrastructure and funding.

It is imperative that A level graduates get access to such institutions to open up for national
development agendas. In this research, university education access is pivotal in the sense that it
is multi- disciplinary where faculties offer degrees and non-degree courses to A-level high
achieving students and mature students. Universities are the guiding beacon in the philosophy of
long life learning for A-level high achievers. Gudo, Oanda and Olel, (2011), comments on the
above by saying graduates from universities produce knowledge competences and dispositions
that are necessary for the development of competitive human resources.

According to UNESCO, (2012) university education is the ultimate aim of every parent who has
a child in secondary school today in Zimbabwe. It is relevant in this study to point out that
Advanced- level high achieving students to proceed to university so that they can be trained to
tackle challenges facing the nation. Important to this study, is the work of Zvobgo, (1998), who

xxi
analyzed the foundations of access to university education in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwean
approach to the educational reform was more radical and ambitious than Zambia and Botswana
Kariwo, (2011). Zimbabwe took a different dimension in terms of access and implementation
and its goal was to universalize education. According to Mandaza, (1987) Zimbabwe spent more
resources on mass education. This widened the educational base although the government
responded positively by establishing at least one university in each province, access to these
universities seem not to correspond with the number of A- level students who qualify to enter
universities. Mhlahleki, (1995), pointed out that there is very little discourse and literature that
deals with access to university education in Zimbabwe. This thesis aims to add to literature on
university access in Zimbabwe. The government and access to university education access
appears silent on conditions and access of A- level high achieving students Giroux, (2002).
Zimbabwe’s efforts to provide high access to university education were thwarted by financial
challenges (UNESCO, 2010). Kweiga, (2006) declared that the entry points for access to
university are now an issue of the past due to excess competition of access to university
education in Zimbabwe. There is no national policy on access that pushes our A- level high
achieving students to university education. The minimum entry points now differ from one
university to another because most of universities are considering those who are capable to pay
tuition fees. Africa University is enrolling some students with 6 points or more at A- level
Nziramasanga, (2014).

Significant to this study is that the access to education in Zimbabwe has become too
philosophical such that scholars and academics should provide better lenses and more
information. UNESCO, (1995) observed that the provision of university education depends on
political commitment and political will, backed by fiscal measures and reinforced by educational
reforms. UNESCO, (2000), declares that Universal Declaration of Human Rights asserted that
everyone has a right to education. The purpose of the declaration was that every person, child,
youth and adult shall be able to benefit from access to university education and opportunity. The
satisfaction of these needs empowers individuals in any society and confers upon them
responsibly to respect and promote education to others and further the case of social justice,
tolerance and to ensure accepted humanistic values. Goulding, (2010) posits that university
education requires a commitment by the state and stakeholders in education. Zvobgo, (2014)

xxii
pointed out that the most urgent priority is to ensure access to and improve the quality of
education and to remove obstacles that hamper their active participation.

2.4 Funding University Education in Zimbabwe

Most universities rely on Government funding but funding of these universities by the state has
reflected a negative trend, tuition fees has been left to individuals to pay for their university
education Kapungu, (2007). Whilst private universities have high fees structure as compared to
state universities with the bulk being church run universities. University education is
underfunded the amount of money that is allocated to universities is very inadequate. This,
however, affects access to university because the tuition fees become inhibitive. Very few
students are able to pay for their education especially those from poor socio-economic
background who hardly go to university Kariwo, (2011). Zimbabwe is suffering from economic
hard ships as a result it affects A- level high achieving students. Loans for students are not being
availed. Academics cannot go for contact leave as well as being sponsored for external study
programs.

Government is unable to provide sponsorship and bursaries for university education in

Zimbabwe yet the cadetship scheme is not accessible to all students (Zvobgo,
2014).Zimbabwean universities are trying to generate income so as to realize profit where
possible, so that they rely less on government funding. This means that Zimbabwe universities
need to generate income and become self-sufficient Dzvimbo, (2000). Fees are high and most
students cannot afford to study in universities especially those from a poor background
Chatsenga, (2000). Zimbabwe is having a small number of university graduates, when access to
university is limited it means both the parents and the government are losing financial as well as
human capital. University graduates are capable of generating new knowledge and innovations
they can invent new things but in these circumstances are unable to invest in innovation because
of lack of funding.

Where resources are scarce, the requirement to make education universally available as noted in
the rights based approach can mean a reduction in the per capita funding for each student leading
to higher lecturer-student ratios, overcrowded classes, fewer materials and resources per class,
and lower university infrastructure thereby sacrificing quality for access. In these circumstances,

xxiii
access to education is an overriding concern, and it is not acceptable to discriminate between
groups of children and offer preferential treatment to some on the basis of resources. Yet,
whenever possible, efforts need to be made to increase the budgetary allocation to ensure there is
access to quality education for all children. A tendency to discriminate must be guarded against,
and donors may need to ensure that funding is dedicated to the provision of education without
discrimination on any grounds
2.5 Government policy on Access to University Education
2.5.1 Legislative Framework

Educational rights consistent with human rights principles as they pertain to access, quality and
respect need to be embedded in the legislative framework. They should be clearly acknowledged
as entitlements for which governments are responsible and that individuals can claim and, if
necessary, have enforced through the courts. Such legislation not only needs to take into account
the international obligations that an individual State has in respect to fulfilment of that particular
right via incorporation into domestic law, but it should also address the removal of direct and
indirect barriers that impede access. The specific legislative measures required will vary
according to the different country context

2.5.2 State is Obligation to Access to University Education

Once States ratify international human rights instruments, they commit themselves, through
whichever government is in power, to compliance with the rights embodied in those instruments.
States hold the primary responsibilities and are accountable to the holders of those rights for their
implementation. To ensure the realization of the right to education for all, States have three
levels of obligations. First it is to fulfil the right to education by ensuring that education is
available for all university students and that positive measures are taken to enable students to
benefit from it, for example, by tackling poverty, adapting the curricula to the needs of all
students or engaging parents to enable them to provide effective support to their children’s
education. Secondly, to respect the right to education by avoiding any action that would serve to
prevent students accessing education, for example, legislation that categorizes certain groups of
children with disabilities as uneducable. Thirdly to protect the right to education by taking the
necessary measures to remove the barriers to education posed by individuals or communities, for
example, cultural barriers to education or violence and abuse in the school environment.

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2.6 The Availability and Access to University Education

Access to university education according to Angell, Heffeman and Megicks, (2008) implies
making it possible for everyone who is entitled to education to receive it. Thus this study was
undertaken to find out the factors hindering increased access to university education in
Zimbabwe. The idea behind this research is to eradicate these hindrances in future by exposing
these factors to stakeholders in university education. An encompassing definition by UNESCO,
(2003) is that access to university education ensures equitable access to university education
based on merit, capacity, efforts and perseverance. This definition is considered by UNESCO,
(2009) very central to post-secondary opportunities for underrepresented groups such as
indigenous people, cultural, ethnic and linguistic minorities, immigrants, refugees, the disabled
and women UNESCO, (2009). It considered issues in life-long education learning that can take
place at any time with due recognition of previously acquired skills through opportunities for
adults retraining for the workforce. Additionally, school dropouts and second-chance learners are
also central. Equity on the other hand implies that all segments of the society get their fair share
of access to whatever educational opportunities are provided UNESCO, (2009).

According to Altbach, (2009) proportion of adults who desire university education is still rising.
These people have much to contribute to the development of society. There is no doubt that
universities have a vital role to play in promoting skill training and national development and in
recent decades the international education community has discussed the implications of
university education and access Bai, (2006). Emphasis of this research is however placed on the
Advanced- level high achieving and already university students who are facing various
challenges in accessing university education.

The Zimbabwean situation on access to university education is regarded by Maravanyika, (2012)

as, The Education Act of Zimbabwe, (1987) which does not mention anything about university
education and access to university. It is believed and expected that for any government to
succeed in both social and economic growth, it must have clearly defined access procedures to
university education. Thus, the issue of access remains a thorny in the flesh for most African
governments, including Zimbabwe. To underestimate the role of access to university education
in any country can lead to self-denial and stagnation. This is the reason why C .J. Rhodes, the
founder of the colony Rhodesia, in less than five years had crafted the first education ordinance

xxv
in order to enlighten the minority whites Mandaza, (1987). Zvobgo, (2014) agrees with
Mandaza, (1987) that this ordinance reveals the importance of access to education. Rhodes
crafted this education access ordinance to enable the government to survive for more than 100
years. Kariwo, (2011) claims that although Rhodes was a capitalist, he established the University
college of Rhodesia as an affiliate University of London so as to develop the minority white
population in Rhodesia.

Relevant to this study is that Rhodes observed that a state that does not have access to university
education cannot be expected to meet the basic needs of its citizens (Mhlahleki, 1995).
Gaidzanwa, (1992) observes that the few people who had access to formal education were better
placed for access to job opportunities and general social mobility in the colonial societies.
Education was therefore, a very important resource for those members of the colonized countries
who were ambitious. It is interesting to note the contribution of the unfair system of education of
the Rhodesian government results in the following. By 1904 public revenue by Africans alone in
Rhodesia was 41, 4% in 1912 and about 1/3 of the revenue came from forced labour due to
inequalities of education access between blacks and whites (Mandaza, 1987). If the education
system was fair, it means the majority of the school going age was supposed to be in schools not
in farms and in mines as cheap labour.

The 1912 ordinance empowered chief native commissioners to control missionary schools and
African education without financial support. When a group of people are denied access to
education then that group is largely affected very negatively. Mhlahleki, (1995) reports that the
issue of access is a difficult question faced by African governments. The pre-colonial education
policies which denied Africans access to schooling is affecting university education. The number
of Advanced-level high achieving students graduating from high school does not correspond
with the number of students being enrolled into universities. UNESCO, (2015) states that access
to university is a global commitment to provide quality education for all children, youth and
adults. Access to university education can be viewed as those skills of reading and writing and
enables people to solve life problems. Relevant to this study is that access to university education
is linked to the world conference on access university education for all citizens. Those who are

xxvi
capable up to university level must not be denied access. It is interesting to note that previous
international commitments and calls for action contributed immensely towards access.

Bennett, (2008) explains that access helped to revitalize an education reform that started well
before 1990 especially in several developing countries. Banya, (2001) states that developments
towards university education are neither uniform nor leaner because of poor policy interpretation
and implementation. However, some major developments have been made on some fronts
whereas stagnation or even deterioration is manifest on others. Of course regions and countries
do have significant differences. The researcher argues that the guiding principle and budgets on
access to university education have shrunk especially for poor countries. It can be argued beyond
doubt that Zimbabwe and other Sub Saharan countries are having a complexity in widening
access to university education (Angula, 1997). Meaningful education should provide citizens
with relevant skills.
2.7 Socio- Economic Factors to Access to University Education

One of the major factors that militate against students’ access to university education is socio-
economic background (Banya, 2001). The socio-economic status of parents is a crucial factor in
deciding whether a student progresses to the next higher level of education and the opportunity
to attend university. Zvobgo, (2014), states that the persistent drought and the poor performing
manufacturing mining and tourism sectors have resulted in little economic growth and this has
caused serious problems to access university education in Zimbabwe. The net result of the above
scenario is that many students drop out of universities as their parents or guardians fail to raise
tuition fees. Therefore, the two scholars are in agreement that socio-economic status of parents
and guardians affect students in accessing university education. Chombo, (2000) points out that
higher education in Zimbabwe faces challenges which include dropouts, high tuition,
accommodation fees, staff shortages and economic decline, foreign currency shortages,
hyperinflation, and large public debt. The government's budgetary allocation to the higher
education has been in drastic decline Chetsanga, (2000). In developing country like Zimbabwe
the challenges include reduced state funding, brain drain and lack of quality assurance. The
challenges highlighted above have impacted on the functions and operations of universities in
Zimbabwe. This study sought to explore how socio-economic status is affecting A- level high
achieving students in Zimbabwe.

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Significant to this study is that those students who come from poor backgrounds can find it
difficult to access university education even if they have the required points. Kariwo, (2007)
agrees by saying that socio-economic status influences access to university education in
Zimbabwe and it is a form of a structural barrier it hinder access to university education. It is by
far the single biggest barrier to access university education by high achieving A- level students
Mullen (2010). The above observation concluded that students who come from poor socio-
economic background have acute challenges of proceeding to university education. What seem
to determine access to university for A- level high achievers in Zimbabwe could be tuition fees.
Muzawazi, (2010) argues that low income families are less likely or less able to save for post-
secondary education which puts potential students in these families at a disadvantage with
respect to financial resources for university education. The above research was carried out in
Europe therefore this study seeks to uncover how socio-economic affects access to university
education for high A-level achievers in Zimbabwe. Dzvimbo, (2000) supports by pointing out
that these youth from disadvantaged families are exposed to different barriers due to the socio-
economic status of their parents of which their access to university education is limited. Relevant
to this study is that participation in university education can be affected by situations surrounding
the economic life of the student, such as where they live or the communication network around
that geographical area. Access to university education can be a real issue for some, particularly
those who live in remote or rural areas (Mullen 2010).

Ho (2007), confirms that the background of the Advanced-level high achieving students can have
a huge bearing upon the decision to participate in higher education. Makhurane, (2007)
acknowledges that factors such as parent’s occupations, incomes and the socio-economic
environment of the society in which a child is raised, have a big impact on university access.
Evidence from related literature suggests that there is distinct underrepresentation of certain
social groups in higher education. For example, individuals from areas of deprivation, certain
ethnic groups, occupational backgrounds, or those on lower incomes are less likely to participate
in higher education (Chatsenga, 2000). The above indicates that poor social economic
background affect negatively to access university education.

xxviii
Chombo, (2000) raised a very important point by claiming that approximately 30 000 students
graduating from high schools only18% of graduates get admitted into higher education
institutions. This means over 80% of potentially productive persons are left with no opportunity
for training and acquiring employable skills. Chombo, (2000) and Chatsenga, (2000) concur that
the number of Advanced- level high achieving students failing to access university education in
Zimbabwe is too high. Challenges facing Advanced- level high achieving students is likely to be
associated to poor socio-economic status and poverty. Relevant to this study is that university
education is no longer for free, those from poor socio-economic even if they are capable their
chances to university education remain an issue. Kariwo, (2007) observes another significant
point by saying that educated parents can better understand the educational needs and their
children’s aptitude. Chikoko (2008) further explained that these parents can help their children in
their early education which affects their proficiency in their relative area of knowledge. It is
therefore relevant to point out that financial background of parents can provide latest
technologies and facilities in a best possible way to enhance university education for their
children. Parental education and socio-economic factors are of vital importance in effecting
students’ educational achievements. They are the backbone in providing financial and mental
confidence to students. Explicit differences can be observed between those students who belong
to different financial status and different parental educational level Chimanikire, (2009).

The United Nation Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, (2008) conclude that this
era of globalization and technological revolution, university education is considered as a first
step for human activity. It plays a vital role in the development of human capital and is linked
with an individual’s well-being and opportunities for better living. The world is making
technological progress day by day and university education is the only key to match the pace of
its progress. People are giving preference to higher education. Researchers and scholars seem to
prove that only 10 % of the world knowledge has been discovered by human brains, 90% of
world knowledge remains undiscovered Gordon, (1994). Gordon demonstrates how critical
university education plays in world development. Without university education the world
education can be discovered at a very slow pace. It is interesting to point out that in this
knowledge economy university education plays a major role.

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Financial factor is very important for any A-level high achieving students to access university
education. Closely associated with finances and economic factors is the fear of debt. Scholars
such as Ho, (2007), Kasungu, (2007) and Mullen, (2010) cite the level of debt associated with
studying at university as a hindrance to accessing university education. For example, those who
have been brought up in a culture where debt is not regarded as socially acceptable may decide
that the longer term financial rewards associated with achieving university education
qualifications will be insufficient to offset the shorter term costs of studying at higher education.

Landman, (2006) adds his voice to socio economic issues by positing that borrowing from
government or elsewhere to finance one’s university education can be a huge step backwards for
students from poor families. Some of the debts can lead to financial problems, and when industry
is not opening up the consequences can be disastrous. Dzvimbo, (2000) commends that fees are
too high and most students cannot afford to study with universities especially from a poor
background. University education has become a preserve of the elite. A fear of debt could exert
much greater deterrent effect on disadvantaged student’s participation in accessing higher
education. This is characterized by chances of academic success and chances of finding a job at
the end to pay off the debt. The conditions for paying back the money do not attract students to
access university education, instead they opt for other alternatives which are not expensive, like
being enrolled at teachers colleges and yet they qualify for university entrance Kariwo, (2011).

In this study the issue of borrowing tuition fees by A- level high achieving students is not
common. Most of these banks need collateral security which students do not have as a result
poor socio- economic status of students can affect access to university education. Midlands State
University is charging tuition fees at 900 dollars per semester for a period of four years .In fact
total amount needed by a student per semester is 1800 dollars. A tuition fee for teachers college
is close to 500 dollars and this includes food and accommodation. In teachers colleges in
Zimbabwe any student must go for teaching practice for 15 months and an allowances is given
,as a result A-level high achieving students may prefer teaching rather than going to university
due to economic challenges.

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Mullen, (2010) highlights labour market and graduate prospects/earnings potential as structural
barriers. Employment prospects for graduates and the financial rewards expected from university
education qualifications affect participation particularly for those from disadvantaged groups.
The fear of debt impacts on these groups disproportionately and it is therefore important that
they understand fully how university education qualifications can improve their future
employment prospects and earnings potential Mullen, (2010). Bwanya, (2001) points out that
income and access to student support in the form of grants scholarships and pocket money during
studying is seen by some as a very important factor in the decision to participate in higher
education. Shizha, (2011) suggests that the financial concerns of students are two-fold. First the
financial cost of day to day living as a student can act as a barrier to potential entrants
particularly if they have no income stream other than any student support for which they are
eligible. Economic factors do not only act as a disincentive to entering university education for
some, but may also influence the choice of course or institution among those who participate.
Pikari, (1989) adds on to say that economic factors do not only include tuition fees.

Affordability can affect an individual’s choice to enter into university education but can also
have an effect upon whether that individual is able to complete their education. Over and above
countries that invest in university education are developing faster Kapungu, (2007) Korea
invested heavily in university education. This country has become a knowledge based economy.
Bloom, et al, (1989) seem to agree that other countries have suffered from brain drain but Korea
encouraged students to study abroad and return home after completion. Barrow and Lee, (2000)
also claim that most universities in Korea have exchange programs with universities elsewhere.
Evans, (2000) observes an important point by saying that in Brazil, given the impressive
expansion of higher education enrolment since the 1990s, the topic of access and social inclusion
has become part of the federal government’s priorities agenda. The official policy now focuses
on improving the participation in university education of students from low-income groups.
Important to this study is the fact that some of the countries are putting more emphasis on merit
rather than the ability to pay tuition fees and Zimbabwe can be one of them. Mullen, (2010)
observes that in England, a major reform in funding university education occurred in 2006.
Along with the introduction of variable tuition fees and government-funded grants and loans for

xxxi
students, universities were encouraged to provide students with additional discretionary financial
support to promote widening participation and greater access to university.

High achieving Advanced- level students appear to be given adequate financial support in Korea,
India and UK, whereas in Zimbabwe parents are actively involved in financial contribution.
Altback, (2009) declares that the Zimbabwe economy has been on the brink of collapse with
formal employment estimated between 5 to 10 percent The World Bank, (2003) also reported
that 81.68 percent of secondary school leavers were unemployed in Zimbabwe. When the
economy is not functioning it is not easy for the government to provide a wide range of loans and
grants that would cover tuition fees and other living costs for A-level high achieving students to
access university education.

2.8 Summary
The purposes of reviewing literature is among other concerns to examine how certain factors
which have possible influence on the problem under study are interrelated Orodho, (2003).
Several tertiary education access and availability challenges faced by both prospective and
enrolled students have been elucidated in the literature review. Further, issues of government
policy on access to university education and its funding in Africa were also accorded significant
attention. The availability and access of tertiary education opportunities were also covered in the
context of Africa and strategies to best tackle the challenges were also put forward in this
chapter.

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3.0 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

This chapter sets out the philosophy, general principle and methodological orientation of this
study. It discusses the research methodology and data collection methods that was used to collect
and analyze all the data, in order to investigate the research questions. It is important because it
explains the methodology employed in the study to find the challenges in accessing and
acquiring university education at the University of Zimbabwe in the 21st century. The study
makes the case that access to better and quality education is a very important human
development goals, which not only enhances human security, but also vital for a nation’s
development. Therefore, the chapter is structured as follows, it sets out the debate over the
choice of research method, provides a summary of the research design, discusses the study

xxxiii
method (case-study) and the methods used in collecting and analyzing the data, and it concludes
by highlighting the ethical considerations and summary in the use of this methodology

3.2 The Research Design

This study has employed qualitative research design (because of its interpretive approach)
through the lens of critical theory. There are two reasons for using the critical theory, it serves as
a framework because of its usefulness in understanding the concept of power/knowledge,
ideology and governance which this study focuses upon. It enable us to make sense of the hidden
power relations in the way knowledge is constituted, thus produces different lenses through
which to understand social reality, lenses that make society and it phenomenon understandable.
Second, critical theory also comes as a way of critiquing quantitative methodology because
measuring social relations is fundamentally challenging. Morrow and Brown, (1994) argue that,
although critical theory cannot be defined exclusively in terms of a specific method, it does
suggest a distinct methodological strategy and a unique research programme. Both qualitative
methodology and critical theory, as Fossey, (2002) argue, place emphasis on seeking to
understand the meanings of human actions and experiences, and on generating accounts of their
meaning from the viewpoints of those involved, that is, the subjective experiences described by
separate individuals.

The research used a case study of the University of Zimbabwe with specific focus on the school
of social sciences and the student representative council or assembly. According to Creswell
(1998) a case study is an in-depth exploration of a “bounded system” arrived at through detailed,
intensive data collection involving multiple sources of information, both primary and secondary
in its historical, economic, political, and socio-cultural context. It includes the articulation of
research questions, a thorough description of the context, and the identification of the issues
(Millar Wood, 2008). For the purpose of this study I have adapted a straightforward and valid
definition, “….an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real
life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly
evident (Yin, 1994:13).”

As many commentators of emphasize, case studies are not necessarily first-hand studies within a
factual context, and they do not have to be complicated and qualitative in orientation. They are

xxxiv
however context-dependent using a set of qualitative methodological techniques to understand a
social phenomenon. This research examines the challenges facing students at the University of
Zimbabwe in accessing and acquiring university education. The focus was given to students in
the faculty of social science and the student representative council at the University of
Zimbabwe. I chose them due to the time frame and resources available to me, it was not visible
to include all faculties at the University of Zimbabwe. The student’s movements leaders from the
Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) were also included as key informants as to
incorporate a balanced view in the research.

The bourgeoning benefits of using a case-study are that it can prove invaluable in increasing
knowledge of a subject. It also tends to focus on collecting up-to-date information (Gray, 2009:
248). For this reason, Gray maintained that data collection may involve the use of not only
contemporary documentation, but also direct observation and systematic interviewing (ibid.). In
this regard, therefore, I have used interviews, focus group discussions, and documentary reviews
as the methods of collecting data for this study. I have also made use of field notes which I
developed while in the field. It describes not only my experience and observations, such as those
made while engaged in participant observation, but also the elucidation of the responses. While
improvement in access to affordable quality education and in acquiring it, it is increasingly seen
as vital for a nation’s socio-economic progress and development and as key human security
concerns, this research design should enable the study to be more focused and concise, and
should provide more practical solutions. Soy (1997) state that the flexibility of the case-study
method allows it to introduce first-hand and unexpected results during the process, and could
lead to the research taking new directions. Its applicability to everyday problems, existing human
circumstances, and its public availability through written reports makes it spot-on for this study

3.3 Population and Sampling

3.3.1 Target Population

Population refers to a group of individuals or items that have one or more characteristic in
common of interest to the researcher, Deacon et al, (2011). Seconding this is Blumberg et al
(2012) who define population as the total number of elements about which a researcher intends
to make a general conclusion. Labspace (2014) states that a study population has to be clearly

xxxv
defined in terms of particular characteristics such as age, sex, level of education, geographical
location and experience. Therefore, in this study the population of ninety students was targeted
from the faculty of social science and the student’s representative council from the University of
Zimbabwe. Four student’s leaders from the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) was
also included as key informants in the study. Seventy three participants was therefore drawn
from the targeted population, forty were male and thirty three were female and two males and
two females from ZINASU national leaders respectively. The use of such a large targeted
population number is to make sure that the sample size will became a replica of the whole
population hence authenticity of the research findings. However engaging all students from
different faculties at the University of Zimbabwe posed a challenge to the researcher because it
will be impossible to cover all faculties due to limited resources and time within which the study
was conducted. The researcher therefore used sampling.

3.3.2 Sample

The researcher adopted Krejcie and Morgan’s sample size determination table to justify the
sample size that was deduced form the targeted population of ninety students from the faculty of
social science at the University of Zimbabwe. From the sample size of seventy three participants,
thirty five participated in focus group discussion and thirty eight in interviews.

Table I Krejcie and Morgan’s Table

N S N S N S N S N S

10 10 100 80 280 162 800 260 2800 338

15 14 110 86 290 165 850 265 3000 341

20 19 120 92 300 169 900 269 3500 346

25 24 130 97 320 175 950 274 4000 351

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 30 28 140 103 340 181 1000 278 4500 354

35 32 150 108 360 186 1100 285 5000 357

40 36 160 113 380 191 1200 291 6000 361

45 40 170 118 400 196 1300 297 7000 367

50 44 180 123 420 201 1400 302 8000 368

55 48 190 127 440 205 1500 306 9000 370

60 52 200 132 460 210 1600 310 10000 375

65 56 210 136 480 214 1700 313 15000 377

70 59 220 140 500 217 1800 317 20000 379

75 63 230 144 550 226 1900 320 30000 380

80 66 240 148 600 234 2000 322 40000 381

85 70 250 152 650 242 2200 327 50000 382

90 73 260 155 700 248 2400 331 75000 382

95 76 270 159 750 254 2600 335 1000000 384

Note: N is Population Size, S is Sample Size

The researcher however used purposive sampling method in selecting the participants to
participate in the research project.

3.3.3 Purposive Sampling

On purposive sampling, participants were selected according to the needs and purpose of the
study. Patton (2017) comprehends purposive sampling as a non-probability sampling practice in
which the investigator count on his/her own judgement when selecting members of population to
contribute in the research. Therefore the researcher chooses a sample based on their knowledge
about the population and the study itself Creswell and Creswell, (2018). Thus in this study, the
researcher choose participants basing on the study’s purpose. The researcher used purposive

xxxvii
sampling in both focus group discussion and interviews with the view of balancing students from
different courses that fall under the faculty of social sciences at the University of Zimbabwe. The
student’s representative council was chosen purposively for the role they play in mediation and
facilitation on behalf of the students and the administration. ZINASU leadership was selected
purposively as the key informants due to its advocacy and lobbying for accessible and affordable
education in Zimbabwe. It is also justifiable to use the purposive sampling because easier to
make generalizations about your sample in comparison to random sample where not all
participants have the characteristic you are studying and it is easy to use and can also be used
when it’s impossible to conduct probability sampling.

3.4 Data Collection Instruments

A data collection instrument is a tool used to gather data around an individual or group of
individuals’ opinions and views about a topic under study. The collection of data for this study
took the form of a multi-method approach using both primary and secondary methods. Data was
collected at the University of Zimbabwe from first year students in the faculty of social science
and the student representative council together with the leadership from ZINASU as key
informants due to time and the resources available to me.

3.4.1 Primary Data

Primary data is the study of a subject through first-hand observation and investigation (Dawson,
2009), and consists of conducting semi-structured and open-ended interviews and focus group
discussions, comprising 6-8 participants. I followed these methods to facilitate more focused
exploration. In each type of interview, I developed and used an interview guide based on two
different questioning strategies proposed by David (2007), the topic guide and the questioning
route. The topic guide according to David is a list of subjects or issues to be pursued in the
individual interviews and focus group discussions. By contrast, the questioning route is a
sequence of questions demanding specific answers (Krueger, 1998). Participants are selected
using purposive samples based on their experience, expertise educational background, and are
chosen from a wide range of backgrounds to guarantee variety of viewpoints. Qualitative
sampling is described as purposive when it aims to select appropriate information sources to
explore meanings, and theoretical when its aim is the selection of people, situations or processes

xxxviii
on theoretical grounds to explore new ideas and develop theory as data analysis progresses
Fossey (2002).

3.4.2 Interviews

The researcher followed the context as suggested by Patton (1995:205) and conducted face-to-
face interviews that were semi-structured using open-ended questions so that participants had the
opportunity to elaborate on their answers. The interviews took the form of a more formal sit-
down approach with those taking part. As the interview progresses, Dawson (2009:74) stated that
the researcher needs to ask questions, listen carefully to responses, and then probe for more
information by obtaining clarification, or further explanation, if necessary. He stated that the
main aim is to elicit specific information which can be compared and contrasted with
information gained from other interviews. During the fieldwork, I conducted 38 interviews, 20
females and 18 males and participants were drawn from all academic courses within the faculty
of social science at the University of Zimbabwe and from ZINASU. The reason for selecting
such a wide range of participants was to achieve a balanced result. I used a phone recorder to
record the interviews with their consent. Each interview lasted for approximately 5 to 10
minutes. The researcher also took notes during the remainder.

A thorough review of literature on challenges affecting access and acquiring of education at the
University of Zimbabwe was clearly set out the focus of the research and the research questions.
Interview questions and guide was also developed and also prepared an interview schedule that
had a list of questions centered on challenges in accessing and acquiring education at the
University of Zimbabwe and a fieldwork plan for the entire period of the research was
established. This schedule ensured that uniformity and consistency were applied to each
interview. The fieldwork plan clearly set out all the arrangements and the extent of each
interview. I kept records of interviews conducted, and also made follow-up meetings to get
further documents. Every participant was contacted through the WhatsApp platform and phone
calls before setting up meeting with them at the University of Zimbabwe. I informed them about
the purpose of the study, its relevance, and how their answers would contribute to the way in
which policies would be formulated and implemented that could enhance the education
development at the University of Zimbabwe. All participants interviewed were guaranteed

xxxix
anonymity, and I also informed them that their responses would be kept confidential because of
the sensitive nature of the study

3.4.3 Focus Group Discussions

In addition, focus group discussions were also used (group interview technique) as another
method of collecting data for this study. Krueger and Casey, (2000) argues that focus group
discussions is one of the most common methods of attaining qualitative data in the academic
arena This is because as Cheng (2007) put it “it is far more appropriate for the generation of new
ideas formed within a social context”. According to David (2007), focus group discussions are an
important and valuable instrument for data gathering especially when the researcher tries to
understand different viewpoints of reality. Krueger and Casey (2000) also stated that a focus
group is intended to make a group of people with specific attributes provide qualitative data
connected to the research topic in a comfortable environment, under the guidance of a moderator,
and through discussion. This approach encourages the exploration of how opinions are made and
revised through the collaboration between participants.

During this research, five focus group discussions were held each from students of
administration, social work, political science and sociology and one was inclusive. Initially the
researcher had planned to conduct four focus group discussions from political science,
administration, social work and sociology. However, after I had completed the four focus group
discussions, new issues of interest emerged during the fourth focus group discussions conducted
with public administration students. As a result I quickly arranged another one there. The
researcher adopted Morrison (2002) approach which indicates that, when the information
gathered from different participants, in different groups, becomes redundant, such that the
saturation (as a condition of qualitative data gathering) was reached, the organization of new
focus groups becomes unnecessary. Cheng (2007) describes this process as “saturation of
opinions,” which means the principle for adding or reducing the number of interviews using a
focus group. Taking this into consideration, the researcher was therefore able to address the new
issues that arose during the fourth focus group discussion. Three of the focus group discussions
consisted of seven participants and the other one consisted of six participants and the last one
with eight participants. The focus group discussions were held at the University of Zimbabwe

xl
student’s Union hall with the facilitation of the student’s representative council President and
Secretary General. Each of the focus group discussions lasted for about 35 minutes.

In each of these discussions I acted as a moderator/facilitator, greeted all the participants,

presented the topic of conversation, and asked unambiguous questions, managed departure from
the subject, and ended break-away discussions. I also ensured that the discussion is not
dominated by one person whilst trying to ensure that each of the participants made a
contribution. All discussions were recorded with the consent of the participants, and at the same
time I took notes. Dawson (2009) pointed out the advantages for using focus group discussions
as a data collection method. She stated that focus group discussions can provide an extensive
array of responses during one meeting, participants can ask questions of each other, reducing the
effect of researcher’s bias, it helps participants to remember issues they might otherwise have
forgotten, helps to overcome their inhibitions, especially if they know other group members, the
group effect is seen as a useful resource in data analysis and participants interaction is useful to
analyse. Although focus group discussions can be laborious and can result in lot of data which
are difficult to arrange, Rabiee (2004) argues that they do offer relatively quick access to a lot of
people and their ideas.

3.4.4 Secondary Data

Secondary data involves the gathering of information from other sources (articles, books, reports
and policy documents). All the articles I have used in this study came from internet and position
papers from ZINASU. Hence data collected for example from the review of articles is scientific
and peer-reviewed which gives the study the conviction of using accurate information.

3.4.4.1 Secondary Documentary Sources

Documents play significant part in data collection and Connelly (2010) states that secondary data
is the use of data gathered in a previous study or collected for the purpose of testing new
hypotheses or answering new research questions. As a result, he goes on to argue that secondary
data is perhaps suited best for descriptive, exploratory, and correlational studies. Such studies
may provide answers to primary questions that could lead to the development of a theory.
According to Silverman (2001), documents are considered to be unchanging and reliable
investigating record because they fill in gaps that are not covered by the participants to enhance

xli
the reliability of the study. Thus the study uses secondary data in finding challenges facing
students at the University of Zimbabwe in accessing and acquiring education.

During course of this research, the researcher have collected documents from secondary
literature such as books, reports, policy documents, and articles found in databases and web
archives of the Zimbabwean Government, the United Nations and the University of Zimbabwe as
well as from no state actors and other international organizations. As Yin (2009) argued,
documents provide a re-assessment of issues and present the basis of connecting the past with the
present events. However, there is a problem of validity and reliability of secondary data. This is
because accessing documents from government officials and other international institutions may
sometimes be problematic, as the official procedure involved in retrieving appropriate documents
from these departments is time consuming and very challenging, and most documents are
confidential. I was able to address this problem by adopting the four quality control methods put
forward by Scott (1990) to ensure that the sources of the document were valid, reliable, and
important by checking for their credibility, authenticity, representativeness and meaningfulness.

3.4.5 Data Integrity

In order to present a clear picture of the research process, practical consideration was taken very
seriously, as anything that prevent it to endanger the validity and reliability of the study. In order
to guarantee integrity of the data collected for this research, triangulation approach was used and
six strategic considerations were also adopted, Shram (2003) identified for fieldwork. As
Onwuegbuzie and Teddlie (2003) stated, it ensures the level of accountability and legitimacy that
is needed for data collection, analysis, and interpretation. This study therefore has used different
methods to collect data. Gillham (2004) argues that data accumulated by different methods but
bearing on the same issues is part of what he called a multi-method approach. He stated that if
this multi-method approaches agree then we can be reasonably confident that we are getting a
true portrait of the research.

Gillham, (2004) also argued that if they do not interrelate then we have to be cautious about
basing our understanding on any one set of data. This approach of different practical positions is
usually known as triangulation. Triangulation of data sources and methods thus allows the
contrast and coming together of perspectives to identify corroborating and differing accounts, in

xlii
order to examine as many aspects of the research issue as possible (Fossey, 2002:728). The
reason why this is important to this study and drawing from Williams and Morrow (2009) is that,
triangulation helps to provide evidence of data quality. The researcher combined individual
interviews with information from focus group discussions and the analysis of various documents
to understand whether the data from various sources point to the same conclusion on the
challenges facing students in accessing and acquiring university education at the University of
Zimbabwe.

3.5 Analysis and Organization of Data

Data analysis consists of examining the databases to address the research questions Creswell,
(2005). Fossey (2002:728) described it as “a process of reviewing, synthesizing and interpreting
data to describe and explain the phenomena or social worlds being studied”. The main aim
according to Robson is to reduce the data or to at least reconfigure it to a more manageable and
comprehensive form. Taylor-Powell and Renner, (2003) also stated that good analysis depends
on understanding the data. They argue that for qualitative analysis, this means your reading and
re-reading the text, audio recordings should be transcribed and read through carefully to pick out
relevant themes. Therefore, this research used a thematic and narrative approach in analyzing all
the data collected for this study. Content or thematic analysis is based on the examination of the
data for recurrent instances of some kind, and these instances are then systematically identified
across the data set, and grouped together by means of a coding system (Silverman, 2004).
Tentative data organization and analysis begins during the data collection process (Oppenheim,
2005), that is in the field. This was oriented towards an iterative testing and re-testing of
theoretical ideas using the data.

Hence, to guide the analysis process during the research, the researcher therefore adopted a
framework from Taylor-Powell and Renner (2003:2) that consists of five key steps which
describe the basic elements of narrative data analysis and interpretation. The process, they argue
is fluid as it provides the flexibility of moving back and forth between steps. These steps are
summarized as follows.

 Get to know your data: this involves an acquaintance of the data taking into
deliberation the quality of the data before proceeding accordingly. This also involves

xliii
 reading and re-reading text carefully and writing down any impressions you have as you
go through the data.
 Focus the analysis: this process consist of reviewing the purpose of the evaluation and
what you want to find out by identifying a few key questions that you want your analysis
to answer. In this approach, you focus your analysis to look at how individuals or groups
responded to each question or topic. This should lead to identifying inconsistencies and
differences. The same approach can be applied to particular topics.
 Interpretation: this involves using the themes and connections to explain the findings
(narrative/descriptive). You need to develop a list of key points or important findings
that you have discovered as a result of categorizing and sorting the data. It is also helpful
to include quotes or descriptive examples to illustrate your points and bring the data to
life.
 Categorise the information: this process is also referred to as coding or indexing the
data. It involves reading and re-reading the text and identifying themes or patterns and
then organizing them into coherent categories. As you categorise the data, you might
identify other themes that serve as sub-categories. Continue to categorise until you have
identified and labelled all relevant themes.
 Identify patterns and connections within and between categories: one will organize
the data into categories either by question or by case, you will begin to see patterns and
connections both within and between the categories. For example, what key ideas are
being expressed within the category? What are the similarities and differences in the way
people responded, including the subtle variation? To show which categories appear more
important, you may wish to count the number of times a particular subject pattern
occurs, or the number of participants who refer to certain themes. These counts provide a
very rough estimate of relative importance of each theme.

Source: Taylor-Powell & Renner (2003)

Additionally, Coding is also a very important aspect in data analysis exercise. It is a process of
grouping evidence and labelling portions of text so that they reflect increasingly broader
perspectives (Gelo, 2008). Once codes have been assigned to sentences, or to a collection of
sentences, it is easy to identify the themes, both across and within groups or individuals (Breen,

xliv
2006). Breen argues that codes frequency supplies researchers with an objective measure of the
prevalence of an attitude both between and within groups. Gelo (2008) argue that the idea is to
construct a discussion which persuades the reader that the identified categories and dimensions
are effectively grounded in the observed data, and not imposed by the researcher. They further
assert that figures, maps, and tables may also be used to represent these results. This process of
contextualization is crucial to deal with the problem of qualitative internal validity (i.e.
descriptive, interpretive, and explanatory validity).

3.6 Ethical Consideration

This section deals with the ethical considerations that the researcher considered in carrying out
this study and as pointed out by Wilson, (2011) student researchers face ethical issues and it is
required of them that they consider ethical concerns right at the beginning of the research. Such
ethical concerns relate to seeking access to organizations and individuals, collecting, analyzing
and reporting collected data Saunders (2009). Ethical issues in research mean that researchers
have a moral responsibility to conduct the study in an accurate an honest manner, respecting
privacy, confidentiality and being transparent about the purpose for which the data from findings
will be used for. More so, respondents were allowed to withdraw from the research at any time
they feel so. No force was used to gather information and cheating was avoided. The researcher
try his best to be objective in conducting his research and to avoid bias in data analysis, data
presentation and personal decision among other reasons. As far as the research is concerned, the
researcher kept the agreements, promises, act with sincerity and strive for thoughts and actions.
On the same point the researcher kept good record of research activities, such as data collection,
research design and correspondence among patterns or journals by other scholars

3.7 Summary

This chapter has summarized the philosophical and methodological orientation used in
investigating the research questions for this study. As shown in the chapter, the choice of
research methodology was guided by: qualitative research method through the lens of critical
theory, which it is argued was appropriate for this study. This is because they both seek to gain
an understanding of a particular situation from the perspective of the participants with the aim at
not only understanding the reality but also making sense of the hidden power relations in the way

xlv
in which knowledge is constituted, and the effect it has in achieving the goal to understand the
challenges facing students at the University of Zimbabwe. The methods of collecting data were
interviews, focus group discussions, documentary analysis and field notes. It also shows how the
data would be analyzed using a thematic and narrative approach. The thematic approach was
based on identifying themes across the data set and then grouping these together using a coding
system. The narrative approach took a descriptive form of the emerging themes to establish and
develop new theories. Finally, the chapter concluded by identifying the main challenges of using
qualitative research through the lens of critical theory, and explained how these challenges were
addressed, and then offered a critical self-reflection on the entire work.

xlvi
CHAPTER 4 DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

4.1 Introduction

The main prod of this chapter is to present and discuss on the data presentation, analysis and
discussions of the research findings on challenges of accessing and acquiring university
education with UZ as a case study. The results and findings presented in this chapter were guided
by a set of objectives out lined in the first chapter as to identify sources and challenges hindering
access to higher education, to establish government policy on funding of tertiary institutions,
availability of opportunities to access university education and to recommend strategies that can
best be adopted to improve access to university education by many in Zimbabwe. The primary
source of data was mostly collected from students from the faculty of social science and the
student’s representative council. However the National executive of ZINASU was also consulted
as key informants in this study.

4.2 Data Presentation and Analysis

4.2.1 Enrollment challenges faced by students in pursuit of university education at the

University of Zimbabwe.

There are numbers of challenges facing students in Zimbabwe in accessing and acquiring
education. This research however noted that, the most challenge facing students in the pursuit of
university education at the University of Zimbabwe is ‘bottleneck’ entry requirements for
students. This means that a number of students who had finished their advanced education are
failing to meet the entry requirements at the University of Zimbabwe. During focus group
discussions, students in the faculty of social science mentioned that the system of
"bottlenecking" eliminates many students from entering the university level if they fail the
national qualifying exam or do not pass enough subjects. The entry requirements differs with the
areas of studies which students needs to embark on at the university. The Ordinary level offers
the most studies in a secondary school system that offers approximately 120 subject areas. While
the Ordinary level and advanced level do not necessarily offer the same subjects, the Advanced
level eliminate most subject depending on the areas of interests of students. The major subjects
are English (which is also the medium of instruction), Shona, IsiNdebele, French, Portuguese,
Spanish, biology, history, mathematics, economics, economic history, ancient history, chemistry,

xlvii
physics, and computing science. The students indicated that the system of bottleneck is one of
the major challenges that faced students in persuading of University education. That the five
Ordinary level including English and two Advanced level passes as an entry requirements to the
University of Zimbabwe had affected many students who had finished their A Levels but failed
to obtain the entry requirements.

The students notes that , the accessibility of education at the University of Zimbabwe requires
strong financial backup from families and this limits the accessibility to university education
since the government no longer provides grants and effective loans without guarantor. The
massive increase in student enrolment significantly exerted pressure on the national budget.
Funds allocated to higher education in the national budget are dwindling resulting in reduced
expenditure per student by government. Zimbabwean universities need to be able to generate
income and realize profit where possible, hence rely less on government funding. This meant
Zimbabwe Universities need to generate income and become self-sufficient and this kind of
privatization of universities in Zimbabwe has led to the decrease in access to education. This
perspective was necessitated by the fact that government subsidies to state universities are
decreasing annually and hence becoming a major challenge in accessing education at the
University of Zimbabwe.

4.2.2 Challenges restricting access to university education in Zimbabwe

The study sought to establish the challenges students were facing in accessing university
education. Respondents were asked to identify the challenges they had experienced that limited
their access to accessing and acquiring education at the University of Zimbabwe. A number of
challenges were noted down that are restricting students to access university education in
Zimbabwe. This include financial issues, entry requirements, lack of information mostly to the
rural populace, the quota based system and lack of citizens and career guidance to secondary
school students. Fees are too high and most students cannot afford to study with universities
especially from a poor background. University education has become a preserve of the elite.
Very few students are able to pay for fees hence the inability to attract viable classes. The
research indicates that accommodation fees are also high and students are deferred from joining
universities due to limited resources, there is restricted entry to university education barring
those with less A' level points and adult students are sacrificing their studies so that their children

xlviii
access university education. This are some of the challenges that were noted by the respondents
during focus group discussions.

In addition, in according to what hiders the students to acquire effective education at the
University of Zimbabwe, students explained the effects of brain drain’ as one of the main causes
of “skills crisis” in Zimbabwe. They noted that brain drain has accelerated in the last decade in
Zimbabwe with most professionals going to countries such as Britain, Australia, New Zealand,
Canada, South Africa and Botswana. It is estimated that more than three million Zimbabweans
are outside the country with around a million being professionals. Universities have a challenge
of retaining highly qualified lecturers by improving their salaries and conditions of Academics in
Universities have enjoyed academic freedom as a result the quality of their service delivery has
not been critically scrutinized. The main challenge is that of introducing a performance appraisal
system relevant to assessment of the performance of both academic and non-academic or
administrative staff. Quality of teaching and research should be maintained. Students also noted
that some conventional universities in Zimbabwe the lecturer produces the course outline,
delivers lectures to students sets, and marks both assignments and examinations, and ultimately
the lecturers determines the passing or failing of students. This has implications on quality and
accountability to stakeholders. In these institutions the use of external assessors is not a
requirement expected of departments.

University Education Access Restrictions faced by students

47.5%

25.6%

11.3%
7.5% 5.6% 2.5%

Financial Restriction Entry Requirement restriction Attitude factor restriction

Quota based system Corruption Ignorance

Figure 4.1: Showing Challenges restricting access to university education by students

Source: Primary data, 2020

xlix
Findings show that university education has become a preserve for the elite and the government
has moved to privatization of education in Zimbabwe. The research findings shows that financial
constraints is the main challenge restricting equal access to university education in Zimbabwe
especially for those from poor backgrounds. Some students have indicated that the issue of
financial constraints emanates from underpaid civil servants whom most parents’ works, students
also indicated the economic problems prevailing in Zimbabwe. This is in agreement with what
emerged from focus group discussions with key informants who reiterated that financial
constraints are the major restriction to university education access in Zimbabwe. Almost all
respondents acknowledged the influence that financial constraints have on access to tertiary
education. These findings therefore, are in line with those of UNESCO, (2012) from a study
carried out in Nigeria in which they reported that education costs related with universities pose
serious obstacles for poor households and that average schooling spending per child is more than
10 times higher among the richest 20% of households in Nigeria than it is among the poorest
20%. Henceforth this shows the circumstances around the encounters affecting students in
accessing and acquiring university education at the University of Zimbabwe.

4.2.3 Government funded university education support schemes

The researcher sought to find out from respondents if they were aware of any government
support schemes available for students pursuing university education and if they had access to
the schemes. The respondents argued that there are aware of two schemes set by government to
support access to university education namely, the Presidential Cadet scheme and the Student
Grant’s scheme. Among the attendance of the focus group discussion who professed the
knowledge of the funding schemes, none of them were actually receiving a student grant from
government and very few were accessing the cadet scheme and indicated that the loans a very
inefficient. Most significantly, respondents indicated that they face difficulties in accessing
government funded education support schemes and this becomes the major challenge to
accessing and acquiring university education at the University of Zimbabwe. These findings are
crucial in the sense that, they are in line with those of SARUA, (2010) who discovered that the
government was once the major source (65.3%) of public university funding between 1980 and
2000 which has since declined substantially and is now limited mostly to the public.

l
Interviews with key informants established that, they agree that in previous years students relied
on state funding but this has since changed and students are being encouraged to find alternative
ways of funding themselves with individual families being major funders of tertiary education in
Zimbabwe. Thus shows that Zimbabwe has not yet implemented a scientific funding formula for
university education and is relying on unclear and perhaps unfair allocation methods. It shows
that for those who had actually managed to get access to education at the University of
Zimbabwe there are still facing a number of challenges in acquiring it, this ranges from failure to
pay school fees, accommodation problems and also limited resources by the government to fund
students to acquire study materials. The costs of living becomes too high to students who had
actually had accessed education due to lack of funding.

Table 4.3 Interviewees’ responses

The researcher also contacted interviews with the leadership of ZINASU as key informants at the
ZINASU offices in Mt Pleasant who indicated that “we are aware that there are some
government funding schemes for students, what we are not sure of is the process pertaining to
how students can access such schemes. We have been for so long advocated for the return of
student’s grants and loans so that the students can access this funds but to no avail as of now.
Recently the government through the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education has announced
the students loans and when most students try to access the loans there are conditions such as
the need for a guarantor for one to apply for the loan, for us we feel that the government should
have been the guarantor to the banks and the student can then pay the loan after completion of
his or her study”. This shows that education in Zimbabwe is underpaid and those from
underprivileged backgrounds cannot be able to access higher education for it is very expensive as
compared to civil servants salaries in the country. The other key informant also noted that “the
student funds that most students are accessing are not government funds but private such as the
higher life foundation which is linked to Econet Zimbabwe which pay for students who had
acquired higher grades in secondary school results, and some number of private schorship
which pay for students fees are also available. The government have limited of such funding and
we believe that the education funds are being discharged on a partisan basis with the likes of the
sons and daughters of war veteran’s funds. For us we believe that the funds must be availed to
everyone because everyone has contributed to the liberation struggle hence the most famous

li
statement that “in the struggle the masses and guerrilla were like the fish and water”. Thus
everyone should be treated the same in accessing education funding in Zimbabwe”. Hence this
shows that there is limited accountability and transparency in government funding as well as no
clear information as on who access the funds and who cannot.

4.2.4 Opportunities available for university education support access

Respondents were asked to rank statements of opinion that referred to access opportunities of
education support schemes unveiled by government. The study found out that whilst government
has set up university education support schemes to improve accessibility to university education,
majority of students in the faculty of social science at the University of Zimbabwe strongly
disagree and indicated that the schemes were not easily accessible. Dzvimbo, (2000) in his
findings indicated in support of this arguing, that accessibility to government support schemes
has become limited for the public as such students are encouraged to find alternative ways of
funding themselves. With regards to equality the majority of the participants indicated that there
is no equality and the selection process itself is not transparent since it is not availed to the public
for scrutiny. This may be attributed to growing levels of corruption in almost every sector of the
economy in developing countries. Fagbemi, (1999) in Nigeria fingered unofficial but organized
and powerful groups, as hampering efforts to equalize access to university education. The study
indicated that university education opportunities were not equally available for everyone who
had passed the Advanced level studies. This is supported by Chihombori, (2013) who found out
that university education in Zimbabwe has become competitive, limited and selective and thus
the government has to rely on unclear and perhaps unfair allocation methods. The key informants
all agreed to the findings above indicating that university education opportunities have since
declined substantially and are limited to high performing and affording students suggesting that
there is restriction to entry that bars those with lower than required standards.

4.2.5 Strategies to improve access to University Education

4.2.5.1 Social research

The study found out that there is need for social research in order to improve access to university
education. One key informant also highlighted that there is not much empirical evidence on the
severity of the problem of university education hindrance in Zimbabwe and this affects how

lii
people who have the resources view the problem. According to Zengeya, (2009) adequate
research allows the government and other actors concerned with university education to ensure
the implementation of vibrant programmes and projects that address the problem. Social research
can assist government on how best to implement cadetship funding programs and how they can
change their eligibility criteria to suit the needs of all vulnerable groups in Zimbabwe.

4.2.5.2 Lobbying and advocacy

It was noted from the study that people in marginalized populations are affected grossly by
ignorance and the lack of information. They need people who can lobby and advocate for
programmes, policies and projects that benefit them. Ignorance was reported as one of the
hindrances to access of tertiary education and without much lobbying and advocacy, these people
are bound to be restricted from mainstream development initiatives unless someone raises up his
or her voice for them and air their concerns.

4.2.5.3 Resource mobilization

Mobilizing relevant resources can improve access to university education. All respondents
indicated in favor of resource mobilization as a solution to ending university access challenges.
Others even went on to suggest that mobilizing more non-governmental organizations and other
service providers can improve access and acquiring tertiary education at the University of
Zimbabwe since they will be able to supplement government efforts. This can be done through
the provision of school fees, stationery and providing accommodation. It was highlighted in
focus group discussions that most citizens are restricted access to university education because of
lack of food, school fees and stationery. If these resources are provided for these children or if
they are linked to the rightful resource systems, they will be able to access education.

4.2.5.4. Raising awareness

Since 80% of interviewed respondents agree on ignorance as major cause of university education
restriction for many in developing nations, majority of respondents 90% indicated that there is
need to awaken these people so that they know the benefits of their children having to acquire
university education. Similarly, all the key informants highlighted that ignorance is really
affecting access to university education. One of them articulated that these people need

liii
awareness programs. The use of awareness programs can be equated to Freire’s, (1970) ideal of
providing adult education so as to conscientize people on pressing issues in their populations and
thus giving them enough ammunition to fight off a culture of ignorance or silence.

4.2.5.5 Interview response

In regards to the strategies that the government can undertook to improve access to university
education in Zimbabwe. 80% of the respondents argues that there are a number of strategies that
the government can use and stated that what is needed by the government in commitment to
change the existing mechanisms. One of the respondents notes that “provided l am in a position
of government to change the existing funding gap and to improve things, students grants and
loans are the first port of call to be introduced back into the system, fees should be affordable to
everyone and we should put in place mechanisms that allows students to find jobs to do during
vacations, the government should put more efforts in opening and reopening industries so that
our students should find something to do during vacations” . This shows that there are a number
of strategies that the government can undertook to improve access to university education in
Zimbabwe. But however some students have mixed feelings regarding what’s needs to be done
to improve access to education in Zimbabwe. One student notes that “the challenges is not on
funding mechanisms, what we have is a government which no longer priorities in education. We
have a political and economic crises which has turned down most of our public institutions
which mismanagement of funds, corruption, nepotism and also the government is taking a center
stage in the privatization of education. What is needed is to have new educational, economic and
social policies that are informed by the current situation in the world”. Thus some students has
recommended the change of government policies as one of the major strategy to improve access
to university education in Zimbabwe. And therefore these challenges affecting students in
Zimbabwe in accessing and acquiring education and the University of Zimbabwe in not an
exception of these over ending challenges.

4.2.6 Availability and access to education opportunities at University of Zimbabwe

The researcher used focus group discussions, during the discussions the researcher also seeks to
understand the applications procedures at the University of Zimbabwe and understand if it
enhances full access to education to all students from different societal backgrounds. 100% of

liv
the students agree to the notion that there is indeed application calls for applications and closing
dates for such applications and state that the University used the media as a mode of
communication for calls on application this includes the university website, radio, television and
newspapers. However seventy percent of the responded were not sure with the duration of time
between time of enrollment and time to commit by paying school fees but state that the
university requires a full amount of fees to be considered to register for first semester or as a new
student. Hundred percent of the respondents notes that the application procedure involves a
purchase of an application form from the university, fill the form and submit to the university
and then wait for the response of which they noted that the university will either sent a message
through the phone or publish the names of accepted students in the newspaper.

4.3 Discussion and Interpretation

This section gave the discussion and the interpretation of the state of education and development
in Zimbabwe and the University of Zimbabwe as the major focus taken from the documentary
review. The purpose is to support the evidence obtained from the interviews and focus group
discussions that shown about the challenges facing students in accessing and acquiring education
at the University of Zimbabwe. Higher education was formally introduced in Zimbabwe in 1957,
when the first intake of 58 students was enrolled at the then University College of Rhodesia and
Nyasaland affiliated to the University of London. The University of London was responsible for
setting and ensuring that standards were upheld. The University College became a fully-fledged
independent University of Rhodesia in 1970 (later to be renamed the University of Zimbabwe in
1980) and continued to uphold the same high standards since the university had the staff, the
systems, the values, the resources, and the facilities to maintain quite high levels of teaching and
scholarship. Thus in the colonial and early independence years, the question of quality at the
university was never an issue as the institution was able to operate at “international standards.”
In addition, staff enjoyed reasonably good conditions of service, and there was in place a robust
and adequate staff development programme which ensured that young faculty moved on to
higher qualifications, while senior faculty had leave and other opportunities for self-renewal and
updating.

lv
Literacy is a human right and is a means of gaining knowledge. It empowers and liberates
individuals, families and communities by enhancing their quality of life and human security.
Because of its “multiplier effect”, it helps to eradicate poverty, reduce child mortality, curb
population growth, achieve gender equality and ensure sustainable development, peace and
democracy (UNESCO, 2005). This connection between education and human development is
fundamental to raising output and advancing growth in Zimbabwe. Thus challenges affecting
students at the University of Zimbabwe in accessing and acquiring education is of paramount
importance to the development of the country and humans in general. The challenges being faced
at the University of Zimbabwe dates back to the late 1980s when the World Bank promotes
privatization in developing countries as a policy, primarily, if not exclusively, to reduce poverty
through the development of the private sector (Bayliss, 2000). According to John Chubb, the fait
accompli of private enterprise involvement in education should be utilized to its full potential, in
order to reform an educational system paralyzed by politics and bogged down by bureaucracy
and incapable of innovation Harvey (2005). The privatization of the educational sector was seen
as a way to should would lead to more resources for the education sector, more efficient use of
these resources, more flexibility in education delivery, and an increase in the pool of skilled
labor needed for specific economic activities. It focuses on decreasing costs and also pushes for
increasing quality and quantity of education in the country.

The importance of education is now widely recognized, and it is significantly linked to economic
progress and human security. Most nation states, and even global institutions such as the World
Bank, are arguing compellingly that there is no policy more successful in furthering development
than empowering people through education. The World Conference on “Education for All” used
the term ‘basic education’ to refer to “all forms of organized education and training that meet
basic learning needs. These needs include literacy and numeracy, and the general knowledge,
skills, values and attitudes that people require to survive, to develop their capacities, to live and
work in dignity, to improve the quality of their lives, to make informed decisions and to continue
learning” UNESCO (2008). Meeting all of these needs enhances human security. The
Conference deliberately chose to define education in terms of learning results rather than levels
of instruction. The problem facing access to education as noted in the research which include
high tuition fees and accommodation facilities among others had been facilitated by the
introduction of the neo-liberal education reforms that emphasize the opening up of the education

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services market, to for-profit education management organizations, and via international trade
and investment. The reason for the reforms was because there is questions about government
management of responsibilities, usually within the field of public policy. The free market, private
enterprise, consumer choice, entrepreneurial initiative, and government deregulation are the
fundamental principles leading the attack on public education Ross and Gibson (2007).

Tertiary education in Zimbabwe follows the senior secondary level. It is provided by

polytechnics, professional colleges and universities. Minimum criteria for admission are agreed
by each institution, but a pre-requisite to the demands but the Ministry vison and mission.
Tertiary education programmes lead to the award of diplomas, certificates, and degrees. As with
other levels in the education system in Zimbabwe, the tertiary level suffers from a lack of
facilities, resources, and qualified staff necessary to deliver the level of teaching required to
achieve quality higher education due to lack of financial support offered by the government to
the tertiary institutions. Tertiary institutions receives a small allocation of the Government’s
education budget and it has the least external support. The 2020 national budget gave ZWL$2.2
billion for Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development as compared to
ZWL$8.5 billion for Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. Given the financial cut in
the sector, the short-fall in delivering better education is notable. While admission data and
benefit of progressing to tertiary education are increasing, the institutions do not have the
capacity to meet demand effectively, and courses offered do not adequately match job market
requirement. Therefore these are some of the predicaments facing the university of Zimbabwe
students in acquiring education at the institution and the prospective students to access education
at the institution.

Affordable and quality education in Zimbabwe can help to fight against ignorance, but also
against other forms of insecurity .Education helps appease the daily violence in relationships
between individuals. Investment in education also brings significant gains in freedom from fear
and want. Mingat (2005), for example, claimed that there is strong evidence linking levels of
education-enrolment, particularly levels of learning, to economic growth, improved health and
nutritional outcomes encourage responsible birth control and social stability. These gains,
according to Mingat, underpins the critical role of education in achieving all the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), and are often greater for girls than boys when they complete a full

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cycle of quality education . Education, Mingat argues, brings about a sustainable improvement in
living conditions. It teaches people to take better care of their health. Without education, people
may have no hope, no dignity, and no rights. That is why providing access to education requires
getting the education policy right in the first place.

In Zimbabwe for the neoliberalists, they that public education alone is insufficient to guarantee
access to quality education. For example, the dearth of schools in the communities, congested
classes, the lack of good quality instruction and the poor conditions of service for the staff have
contributed to the deteriorating level of education in the country. Therefore, demand-driven
private schools of all sorts, they argue, normally fill this gap and offer services to households in
return for a certain amount of fees and contributions in kind, or free labor. In doing so, this
would bring into the education sector, business management principles that are vital in providing
quality services Lizotte (2012). Proponents of these reforms claimed that, it would encourage
tertiary institutions to innovate in order to compete for the business of parents and their children.
This would increase competitiveness between different providers of education services. Echoing
Whitty (1998:35), “education and welfare services are offered to individual consumers by
competing providers rather than provided collectively by the state to all citizens”. Proponents of
neo-liberal education reforms have presented choice as the means of improving education.
According to Lizotte (2012), it enables parents and students to choose education options that
have the most effective way of equitably distributing results. For example, students now choose
which schools to attend, although some students have significantly more choice than others.
These changes, they argue, reflect policy markers’ greater faith in markets and competition than
in teachers and students. They claim that choice-based mechanisms remain primarily as the
means of empowerment, which enable students to fulfil their potential. These reforms has
however affected the accessibility and affordability of education in Zimbabwe and the University
of Zimbabwe is also affected since most prospective students fail to register and acquire
education due to the less involvement of the government in funding students through loans and
grants.

The technical and vocational element of higher education is intended to grapple with the lack of
skilled manpower in the country. The objectives, according to the Government, are to boost the
number of locally, trained, poorer middle-level, working class workers to create a more well-

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educated, mathematically competent, middle-level workforce to augment national development;
to embolden women and girls to take part in national development through the attainment of
technical and vocational skills and to construct a helpful environment for the development of
suitable local technology. As argued by UNESCO (2008) that education provides the values,
attitudes, and skills required to meet the emerging challenges of contemporary societies and for
the full development of human personality. The study notes that, a commitment to human
security plays an important role in fulfilling the injunctions of UNESCO’s Constitution to
contribute to peace and security, by promoting collaboration among nations through education
and in asserting the values of peace, democracy, justice, tolerance, and freedom of expression
that the organization has defended from its inception. The education framework is also one of the
most important ways of disseminating the concept of human security. Lecturers, schools,
universities, research centers and training institutions have a particular responsibility for
promoting awareness of the global and universal nature of human security at all levels of
education (UNESCO, 2008).

Therefore human development through education is one of the basic requirements for human
security. Other scholars have argued that, if one accepts that the aim of education is to help
people realize their potential so that they are able to play an active role in obtaining what they
need for their welfare, and for exercising their universally recognized rights, then the link
between education and human security is evident (UNESCO, 2008). As Nobel Prize laureate in
Economics, Amartya Sen, has stressed, “With its particular adaptation to its rich vision and
perspective, human security stands on the shoulders of human development.” The advancement
of human security draws from human rights education, which underpins the teaching of doctrines
and standards helpful to human security. Education systems, as the UNESCO study claimed, are
well-positioned to play a fundamental role in fostering the active listening, critical thinking,
creative problem solving, cooperation, development of attitudes of tolerance, equality and non-
discrimination, self-respect and respect for others that promote human rights and, therefore,
human security. The challenges facing students in accessing and acquiring education at the
University of Zimbabwe has however affected the realization of such rights to the populace of
Zimbabwe especially the prospective students who had finished their high school studies.

4.4 Summary

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The chapter overlook the data presentation, analysis and interpretations by the researcher and the
findings of this research are essentially helpful and can be used in addressing challenges and the
crises that is prevailing in accessing and acquiring tertiary education in Zimbabwe. Basically the
findings of this chapter revealed that there are a number of challenges affecting students in
accessing and acquiring education at the University of Zimbabwe. These challenges include lack
of financial capacity to fund education by the government, a bottle necked enrollment system at
the university of Zimbabwe, poor backgrounds and also poor dissemination of information
especially in rural and marginalized areas of Zimbabwe. Using the findings that were gathered
during the data collection the conclusions can be drawn which are going to be discussed in the
final chapter five and offer recommendations and areas of further studies.

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CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Introduction

The thrust of this specific study was to examine access to university education in Zimbabwe by
scrutinizing the access challenges, government policy on funding available opportunities and
identifying strategies that can be best adopted to improve access to higher education by the
ordinary citizen. The previous chapter has presented a report of findings from the data gathered
from questionnaires administered to respondents and key informants. This chapter now presents
summary of the research as well as building on research conclusions. The chapter also suggests a
set of recommendations for adoption by stakeholders and interest groups and areas of further
study are also suggested in this chapter.

5.2 Research Summary

The first chapter of this report explored the background of the study in which circumstances
from which the research problem emanated from were described. The problem statement was
thus formulated highlighting the problem under study, the affected population and previous
attempts made to curb the effects of the problem. Research objectives were crafted from which
research questions were extracted. The objective of this study was to examine factors affecting
access to university education in Zimbabwe.

Chapter two reviewed related literature on the challenges facing students on enrollment into
universities, government policy on funding university education for vulnerable populations,
availability of university education opportunities and strategies that can be adopted to best
improve access to university education by ordinary citizens. Lessons from other countries have

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been drawn with the objective of bridging the implementation gap between Zimbabwe and other
countries.

Chapter 3 explains how the study was conducted. The descriptive and explanatory research
design was adopted for this study. This research design formed the backbone of this study
because its application involved the formulation of the research objectives, the design of data
collection methods, selecting the sample, collecting, analyzing data and reporting the findings.
Both qualitative and quantitative research approaches were adopted for this study. As a result of
the size of the study population, time and cost constrains, it was hardly possible to conduct a
study of the whole population. For this study the sample size was 191 respondents for which 188
were first year students, 2 were university staff (Dean of Students and Registrar), while 1
ministry representative (director) was chosen. Finally, the chapter discussed the critical issues of
reliability and research ethics. These have been explained and measures to ensure that they are
accorded due consideration to enhance the quality and credibility of the research findings have
been elucidated.

Chapter four presents and analyses the data which was collected from respondents of the study.
Data was collected within a three-week period and used both excel and the statistical package of
social sciences for analysis. Findings of this research reveal that the major economic restrictions
to university education are financial constraints and entry requirements of institutions, while
Attitude of applicants, the quota based system, corruption and ignorance made up the social
factors restricting access to university education. Government has not been seen to be doing
much on helping citizens’ access university education and hence the study recommends
strategies that could best be adopted to improve access to university education.

The section below sums up the conclusions arrived at by the researcher.

5.3 Research Conclusions

5.3.1 Financial constraints

Financial constraints emerged the leading economic hindrance to university education access
among vulnerable populations in Zimbabwe. This shows that financial constraints are one of the
main obstacles in accessing tertiary education especially considering that there are many costs

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involved despite the fact that most families are living below the poverty datum line. Zimbabwe
has not implemented a scientific funding support formula for the public and thus access in terms
of financial capabilities may remain unfair and unclear.

5.3.2 Entry Requirements by Universities

This study therefore concludes that admission into state universities in Zimbabwe is competitive,
with variations across universities and programs. Findings from this study at University of
Zimbabwe show that enrollment into highly oversubscribed and limited programs such as
medicine and law is extremely selective and requires high standards. There is restricted entry to
university education baring those with low A Level points irrespective of their financial, attitude
and or geographical positioning (quota based) advantage. Thus if performance does not match
the required standards at the time even if one is from the local university catchment, has the
financial muscle and the right attitude towards university education, access will still remain
highly restricted.

5.3.3 Quota based system

The issue of quota based admission can be a barrier to accessing university education for many.
In this system the university board reserves a certain percentage of the university’s admission for
residents of its immediate geographical or catchment areas and a significantly smaller percentage
to educationally disadvantaged students from rural backgrounds and only about 40% of students
are admitted on the basis of merits of their academic performance. A study carried out by
Adeyemi, (2001) found significant differences in academic performance between students
admitted on merit and those admitted on other criteria.

Though the Zimbabwean quota based admissions policy was developed to make university
education access somewhat equitable, it doesn’t necessarily broaden the possibilities for
academic success among those admitted.

5.3.4 Corruption

The ever increasing level of poverty in the country caused by the economic meltdown has had an
effect of manifesting corruption in almost every sector of the economy. It is very unfortunate that
state universities in their nature, which are supposed to be service organizations have been turned

lxiii
into profit-making ventures by their proprietors. Students are made to pay very exorbitant fees to
access education and as a result only parents of high socio-economic backgrounds can afford.
This tendency to marginalize students living in poverty has an effect of reducing the quality of
public education. Poor planning is the major cause of corruption, in which politics is abused by
unofficial but organized and powerful groups to hamper efforts to equalize access to university
education in developing countries.

5.3.5 Attitude of applicants

Outside the aforementioned challenges restricting the equalization of opportunity and access to
university education, Fagbemi, (1999) observed that one of the social/cultural constraints is the
attitude of people. For instance, this study through discussions with key informants noted that
some African culture emanating from a certain ideology has defied all institutions that urge
Africans to seek for all forms of knowledge as long as it is of benefit to mankind and have
maintained a hostile stance against western education. It is the researcher’s view that, the
educational imbalance in Zimbabwe may not in fact be corrected, unless efforts are made to
equalize the awareness and the enthusiasm of the different parts of the country for education.

The mindset that education will always manage irrespective of its bastardization should change.
University education is a big industry that deserves a priority ranking in the scheme of things.
Akumah, (2005) argues that any government that places educational expenditure second or third
in its budget least regards education as ill-investment and will reap the dividends.

5.4 Strategies to improve access to University education

The researcher strongly believes that the need for involvement across society in promoting
university education stems from the interdependence between attainment of education and
development outcomes. Though access to university education may mainly be affected by
government, all stakeholders have a role to play. Whilst parents need to create an enabling
environment at home for their children that supports full participation and encourages attainment
of high education levels, the government on the other hand has the responsibility to provide
adequate budgeting allocations and to prioritize allocations to provide equal access to education
and support for vulnerable student groups.

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5.4.1 Resource mobilization

The study concludes that resource mobilization is the most prominent intervention that can be
used to improve and promote access to university education. . If these resources are provided for
these children or if they are linked to the rightful resource systems, they will be able to access
education.

5.4.2 Awareness raising

The study also concludes that awareness raising is the second most prominent social intervention
that can be used to improve access to university education. This is so because most of the factors
affecting access to university education in most developing countries like Zimbabwe are as a
result of ignorance. Other interventions include lobbying and advocacy and social research.

5.4.3 Social research

There is need for social research in order to improve access to university education. Adequate
research allows the government and other actors concerned with university education to ensure
the implementation of vibrant programs and projects that address the problem. Social research
can assist government on how best to implement cadetship funding programs and how they can
change their eligibility criteria to suit the needs of all vulnerable groups in Zimbabwe.

5.4.4 Lobbying and advocacy

It was noted from the study that people in marginalized populations are affected grossly by
ignorance and the lack of information. They need people who can lobby and advocate for
programs, policies and projects that benefit them. Ignorance was reported as one of the
hindrances to access of tertiary education and without much lobbying and advocacy, these people
are bound to be restricted from mainstream development initiatives unless someone raises up his
or her voice for them and air their concerns.

5.5 Recommendations of the study

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This study thus makes the following recommendations in order to improve and promote access to
university education by ordinary citizens in Zimbabwe.

 Government should work towards legislation that accommodates pregnant and married
students to continue with education and accord them all the support they require as is the
case in South Africa (Motana and Dieltiens, 2010). This will ensure increased efficiency
and effectiveness in the implementation of policies that are aimed at improving access to
education.
 There is urgent need to work towards poverty alleviation in marginalized populations in
Zimbabwe as poverty reduction will improve access to tertiary education. This can be
done through employment provision or economic empowerment of the people.
 There is need for government to give civil society organizations the right or platform to
directly support students who have no access to university education rather than
channeling all their efforts and resources through cadetship which is currently facing a
myriad of challenges.
 The government of Zimbabwe should consider putting in place strategic action plans that
aim at improving access to university education. For instance the Vision 2030 of Kenya
and Schooling 2025 of South Africa (Wosyanju, 2010) and (Heaton et al., 2011). Such
strategic action plans will go a long way in assisting central government in setting yearly
targets which will make it easy to review.

5.6 Recommended Areas of further study

The researcher proposes that further research be carried out on the following:

 Whilst this study was focusing on the factors hindering access to university education, it
turned a blind eye on the respective enrollment related challenges facing institutions of
higher learning. Such research may be relevant in reconciling the plethora of challenges
on both ends for the effective development of a sound solution.
 The effectiveness of government policies, programs and legislation in promoting or
improving access to university education in marginalized areas of Zimbabwe.

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 Whilst this study has touched on the issue of gender inequality in passing, there is need to
advance a research on the gender inequality in African communities with regard to access
of not just university education but education as a whole.

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