Amendment of State Universities Statutes Bill - H.B 13, 2021

This Bill amends thirteen separate University Acts in one instrument, to align them with the Constitution and to make them uniform with one another.

The universities covered are Masvingo State University, the National University of Science and Technology, the Zimbabwe Open University, the Pan African Minerals University of Science and Technology, the University of Zimbabwe, Midlands State University, Marondera University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Manicaland State University of Applied Sciences, Lupane State University, Bindura University of Science Education, Chinhoyi University of Technology, Gwanda State University and the Harare Institute of Technology.

The same handful of changes runs through nearly all of them. Each university's objects are amended to include the five pillars of Education 5.0 — teaching, research, community service, innovation and industrialisation, aimed at the production of quality goods and services. Each University Council is reduced to between ten and twenty members, with the stated aims of a lean and efficient council, gender balance and fair regional representation, and term limits are introduced for external members.

On appointments, the Registrar, Bursar and Librarian are to be appointed by the Council with the approval of the Minister — a change that moves a layer of senior university hiring under ministerial sign-off. The Acts are also aligned with the principles of good corporate governance under the Public Entities Corporate Governance Act, which the Bill cites as [Chapter 20:07].

On discipline, the Bill standardises university disciplinary procedures with the aim of removing what it calls cumbersome and costly procedures, and requires student disciplinary committees to include a registered legal practitioner. Several Acts also get new provisions on staff disciplinary committees and terms and conditions of service.

One governance change is easy to miss but worth noting: the Chairperson of Council and the Vice-Chancellor are removed from the Finance Committee at each institution. The Zimbabwe Open University Act additionally has the post of Information Technologist removed.