Education in Independent Zimbabwe: Lessons for the Future of Education in Africa.

I interviewed Dzingai Mutumbuka, who currently serves as a member of the Governing Board for UNESCO's Paris-based International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) as a representative of the African Region.  For ten years, he served as the Chair of the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), a network which brings together all African Education Ministers and representatives of donors supporting the development of education in Africa. Prior to all this, Dzingai Mutumbuka participated in the struggle for Zimbabwe’s Independence rising through the ranks to the leadership of ZANU-PF.  Against odds, he organized a vibrant education for over 12, 000 Zimbabwean youth who were too young to join the armed fighters.   He held major political appointments in Zimbabwe, including as an elected member of parliament.  He was the first Minister of Education and Culture at Zimbabwe’s Independence in 1980 and during his long tenure (nine years) from 1980 to 1989 developed one of the best systems of education in Africa. After this, Dr Mutumbuka held various senior management positions in the education sector at the World Bank from 1990-2007 Currently, Dr Mutumbuka sits on a large number of boards dealing with education including, Results for Development, Teach for All, Educate! Big Win Philanthropy, Vitol Foundation and the Advisory Council of the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program whose main objective is to support newly appointed Ministers of Finance and Planning, Education, Health, Youth, Gender from the Global South so that they can become transformative leaders and help their countries to benefit from the demographic dividend.