Zimbabwe Open University

The Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) is a separation training college in Zimbabwe. Set up in 1999, it is the main separation training college in the country.

Student enlistment at ZOU has been becoming consistently from the season of its arrangement and regarding enlistment it is the biggest college in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe Open University has three resources under which the scholarly projects are led. 

History: 

After freedom, the Government of Zimbabwe received an approach of Education for all. To address the requirement for high gifted labor the 5 Year National Development Plan (1991–1995) stated: 

Interest in HR advancement is interest in human capital and supplements interest in physical and mechanical development. The indigenous habitat can bolster higher populace levels just through mechanical advancement, which requires proceeded with interest in HR improvement. Since 1980, GOZ (the Government of Zimbabwe) has gone for making a training framework that would address the financial needs of the country. 

The University of Zimbabwe, which was the single college in the nation around then, couldn't adapt to the interest for college education. Two commissions were built up: the Williams Commission (1981) and the Zimbabwe Open University Feasibility Study (1986). In July 1994, a council was framed to explore the improvement of college separation education. The commission suggested that there is requirement for separation training at college level to overhaul aptitudes and "to give a proceeding with instruction office to the grown-up population". Based on these suggestions the Center for Distance Education (CDE) of the University of Zimbabwe was shaped in 1993. In 1996, it turned into the University College of Distance Education (UCDE) lastly renamed to Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) on March 1, 1999 by an Act of Parliament. The first Vice-Chancellor was Professor Peter Dzvimbo. 

The year 2001 denoted the increment of the enlistment figures to 23,161. It was on the grounds that Commerce degrees were presented that year. There was a decrease in understudy enlistment in 2002 in light of the fact that some discovered autonomous learning troublesome and numerous understudies confronted monetary difficulties. In 2003, a sum of 19,228 understudies were selected in the college which constituted 46.9% of the aggregate college enrolment in the country. According to 2006 evaluations, pretty nearly 20,000 understudies are enlisted in the college which makes it the biggest college in Zimbabwe.

Vision and mission: 

As per the site of the college, ZOU's vision is the "formation of a World Class Open and Distance Learning University by 2009". The center philosophy of the college is "to build up a best-rehearse venture society based open and separation learning college concentrated on affecting improvement and change". ZOU's site expresses its main goal is "to engage individuals through deep rooted adapting, in this manner empowering them to understand their maximum capacity in a moderate and adaptable way while executing their different endeavours".

Academics:

The Zimbabwe Open University is a multidisciplinary and between personnel institution. It offers both degree courses and non-degree courses. The college has three resources: the Faculty of Science, the Faculty of Arts, Education and Humanities and the Faculty of Commerce. An aggregate of 24 projects are offered under these faculties. As of 2006, the Faculty of Arts, Education, and Humanities has three offices: 

Branch of Education, 

Branch of Languages and Media Studies 

Branch of Social Sciences. 

The Faculty of Science has four divisions: 

Branch of Health Science, 

Branch of Agriculture, 

Branch of Mathematics and Statistics 

Branch of Geography and Environmental Studies.

The Faculty of Commerce is the biggest faculty. It has three divisions: 

Branch of Banking and Finance Management and Business Studies 

Branch of Accounting 

Branch of Human Resources, Marketing and Labor Relations.

The course conveyance routines incorporate print media, smaller tapes, videocassettes, phone, fax, email, CDs and radio broadcasts. ZOU orchestrates its understudies month to month up close and personal gatherings with guides in its territorial centers. The college is imagining the presentation of telelearning/teleteaching strategies in its course delivery. 

ZOU was an accomplice in the Electronic Distance Training on Sustainability in African Local Governments (EDITOSIA), a venture began in 2001 went for figuring suggestions for policymakers of the administration, preparing organizations, metropolitan affiliations and different offices with respect to advancement of showing routines for building the limit of African governments to manage the difficulties of neighborhood sustainability.

Library:

The library of the college was basic in the achievement of ZOU. The libraries comprise of a branch in each of the local focuses took care of by two people. These libraries are exceptionally popular.[16] The organization of the considerable number of libraries in diverse territorial focuses are unified to keep up consistency and simple coordination. The library of ZOU has concurrence with different colleges in the nation under the Zimbabwe University Libraries Associations to utilize one another's facilities.

Impacts on the nation:

As indicated by Mr Mhlotswa, the Deputy Librarian of the Zimbabwe Open University, the course on farming offered by ZOU has contributed fundamentally to the area change program in the country. The business likewise adulated the college the same number of their workers have enhanced execution subsequent to experiencing the ZOU programmes. Graduates from the ZOU are built up in every division of the economy of Zimbabwe.