Zimbabwe Open University

The Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) is a unique institution of higher learning offering Open and Distance Learning to students in Zimbabwe, in the region and in the international arena. It started off as an offshoot of the University of Zimbabwe and has since grown into a fully fledged University. A Centre for Distance Education was established in 1993 by the University of Zimbabwe, in the Department of Educational Administration. This was in line with the Government's realisation, after independence, that the majority of the people in Zimbabwe was hungry for tertiary education and had missed the opportunity of going to college when they were still young, due to the colonial restrictions that had denied them the chance. The Government, whose 1980 Election Manifesto made education a human right, facilitated the development of distance learning to accommodate those people who would not have been in a position to go to conventional, residential tertiary institutions for an education because of lack of sufficient funding and other commitments, for example, work commitments.