Improving the Qualifications of Academic Staff in a Major Zimbabwean University

Abstract

The findings from the baseline survey (MoHTE, 2010) revealed high attrition of senior academic staff (doctorate degree holders) from higher education institutions resulting from the economic meltdown faced by Zimbabwe from 2000 to 2009. It is thus imperative for Zimbabwe to train more staff at doctorate level in order to replenish the ones lost to brain drain and improve the quality of teaching, learning and research. The objective of this study was to establish the extent to which universities have fared in their staff development endevours. A quantitative case study approach was used focusing of Great Zimbabwe University (GZU). Documentary evidence and structured questionnaires were used to collect data from Deans of Faculties. The results showed that the academic staff members pursuing doctoral degree studies increased from one in 2009 to 133 in 2015. Eleven of these are studying in five Zimbabwean universities whilst 122 are enrolled with 19 foreign universities in six different countries. The number of academic staff members increased from 197 in 2009 to 293 in 2015. The university registered its first cohort of 19 Doctor of Philosophy students in 2015 of these 5 are members of GZU staff. The study concluded that Great Zimbabwe University was poised for greater heights in improving the quality of their staff. The study recommends similar studies in the other universities in Zimbabwe.