Non-discriminatory policies
After nearly a century of British colonial rule, the Zimbabwe African National Union took over Zimbabwe and formed an independent country in 1980. The newly formed government created free and compulsory primary and secondary education, valuing education as a fundamental right. This fundamental right was clearly articulated in the Education Act of 1987. The act also abolished all methods of discrimination from the Education Act of 1979.
The Education Act of 1996 and the Disabled Persons Act of 1996 furthered nondiscriminatory policy by requiring that "all students, regardless of race, religion, gender, creed, and disability, have access to basic or primary education (up to Grade 7)." These nondiscrimination provisions expanded the right to education in Zimbabwe for all students, including students with disabilities.
Decentralization of authority
The Education Act of 2006 established School Development Committees. These committees are overseen and established by the School Parents Assembly for parents and guardians of school-going children to participate in the development of Zimbabwe's schools. According to the government's Statutory Instrument 87 of 1992, the purpose of School Development Committees is to:
provide and assist in the operation and development of public schools
advance the moral, cultural, physical and intellectual welfare of students
promote the welfare of the school for the benefit of its present and future students and their parents and teachers
School Development Committees have many functions to control the quality of the school system. Their powers include the recruitment and dismissal of teachers, the preservation of facilities and the act of borrowing money and applying for grants.These committees also decentralized the education system by enabling parents to elect five other parents to lead a school. The decentralization of schools combats the highly centralized structure of the government in hopes to assist the operation and development of education.
Education ministries
In 2013, the government created the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture to foster social cohesion, economic empowerment and educational development in primary and secondary schools. The Minister of the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture was Andrew Langa until President Mugabe fired Langa in September 2015. Langa was replaced by Makhosini Hlongwan and the ministry's name changed to Ministry of Sports and Recreation as of 2015.
Currently, government primary and secondary schools are run by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MoPSE) and non-government schools are run by local authorities including churches and non-profit organizations. The Minister of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is Lazarus Dokora as of 2015. The Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development (MoHTES&TD) oversees public and private universities and technical and teacher education. The Minister of the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development is Jonathan Moyo.