The politics-scholarship contestations of decolonising the Zimbabwean higher education curriculum: a review of literature

Decolonisation has been the buzzword in most African research in recent years, particularly in the context of reimagining higher education beyond Eurocentric frameworks. Decolonisation seeks to extricate African higher education institutions from the vestiges of colonial legacies and chart a new trajectory informed by African values. This study aims to navigate the complex interplay between academic and political spheres through a literature review so that the colonisation of higher education curricula ends. Deploying the Negritude lens and using thematic content analysis, the study examines politics and academic contestations around the adoption of decolonial policies in higher education curricula in Zimbabwe. Using literature from Google Scholar, Sabinet, ResearchGate, JSTOR, and Freefullpdf, the question that underpins the study is, how do the contestations between politics and scholarly perspectives shape the processes and outcomes of decolonising the Zimbabwean higher education curriculum? Findings suggest that decolonising Zimbabwean higher education curricula is a dual process that requires professional mediation between political and academic considerations. The review concludes that political dynamics, particularly, pose considerable constraints on implementing effective intervention strategies to decolonise higher education curricula. By resolving the relationship between politics and academia, higher education institutions can work towards a more inclusive and culturally responsive curricula that reflect Zimbabwe’s rich heritage.