Lecturers file court application to halt UZ graduation

Published: 5 hours ago

The Association of University Teachers (AUT) in Zimbabwe has filed an urgent High Court application seeking to interdict the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) Chancellor from conferring degrees, diplomas, and certificates at the institution's 44th Graduation Ceremony, scheduled for this month.

The legal move, announced today (9 August 2025), comes amid escalating tensions between university lecturers and the UZ administration, with AUT accusing the institution of gross academic misconduct and violations of examination and teaching protocols.

According to the AUT, the quality and integrity of this year's academic output has been severely compromised by what it calls "the most grave of academic fraud ever to exist in our nation."

At the heart of the crisis is an indefinite strike by AUT members that began on 16 April 2025, which the union says resulted in no meaningful teaching or learning during critical academic Blocks 3 and 4.

"Because of the lawful and constitutional strike, students have not had consistent and meaningful learning. Yet, the University is proceeding to confer qualifications," read the statement.

The lecturers claim that despite the ongoing industrial action, the administration, led by Vice Chancellor Prof Paul Mapfumo, pushed through examinations, assessments, and degree processing without proper academic input, leading to what AUT alleges is a "defective product."

AUT claims to have compiled a 45-page dossier that outlines what it terms "a degree printing machine" at UZ. The union alleges that degrees are being awarded without proper academic scrutiny or valid assessment, likening the institution to a "pizza delivery service" where degrees can allegedly be "ordered."

"The University of Zimbabwe has become a Degree Printing Machine. Like pizza, one can now order a degree," the statement read.

The court application seeks to block the conferring of degrees, arguing that doing so would compromise national academic standards and devalue higher education in Zimbabwe.

The Chancellor of UZ, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, is the primary respondent in the court application. AUT insists that allowing the ceremony to go ahead under current circumstances would be complicit in the legitimisation of academic fraud.

The move is unprecedented in Zimbabwe's higher education history and signals deepening institutional dysfunction at the country's flagship university.

In the same statement, the AUT executive paid tribute to its members for their continued participation in the industrial action despite what it described as intimidation, harassment, and kangaroo disciplinary proceedings.

"You were humiliated… invited to swear against the AUT. You endured all this for the profession," the union stated, hailing those who provided "raw data exposing the rot."

Lecturers, chairpersons, and deans who stood in solidarity were praised as "heroes and heroines of academia," with AUT declaring: "We are our own liberators!"

The High Court is expected to review the urgent application in the coming days. If successful, it would stall one of the country's most anticipated academic events and potentially trigger a broader review of academic standards and processes at the University of Zimbabwe.

Neither UZ Vice Chancellor Prof Paul Mapfumo nor university spokespersons had responded to the allegations at the time of publication.

Observers say the outcome of the court case could set a major precedent for university accountability in Zimbabwe's higher education system.
- BD

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