Heritage or Science? Rethinking Zimbabwe’s Curriculum for a Changing World

By Sengwe Marsha

As the world speeds deeper into the age of artificial intelligence, robotics, and digital economies, Zimbabwe’s education system finds itself at a crossroads. The question confronting policymakers, educators, and parents alike is simple yet profound, what kind of curriculum best prepares our young people for the realities of today and tomorrow? Should we cling to a heritage-based model that celebrates identity and culture, or shift decisively toward a science-based system that prioritizes technology and innovation?

When Zimbabwe introduced its Competence-Based Curriculum in 2015, the shift was bold and unapologetically African. It sought to correct decades of colonial influence by rooting education in local realities. The heritage-based approach emphasized national values, culture, indigenous knowledge systems, and entrepreneurship. It was a call to rediscover ourselves, to make learning relevant to the Zimbabwean context rather than imitating Western systems wholesale.

There is no denying the cultural and psychological value of such an approach. For too long, education in Zimbabwe, as elsewhere in post-colonial Africa, was designed to serve external models rather than internal needs. The heritage-based curriculum brought back the idea that education should not alienate learners from their own environment. It taught pupils to see dignity in their languages, traditions, and communities. It reminded a generation that national identity matters just as much as academic achievement.

However, while this philosophy has restored pride and belonging, it faces a critical test in a rapidly evolving world. The global economy is now driven by science, technology, and innovation, not slogans of cultural revival. Nations that have succeeded in transforming their fortunes, such as South Korea, Singapore, and Rwanda, have done so by investing heavily in science and technical education. They recognized early that the future belongs to those who can innovate, design, and adapt, not merely those who can recall their past.

Zimbabwe risks falling behind if it does not align its curriculum with the demands of the 21st century. The country’s job market is already shifting. Automation, artificial intelligence, and data-driven systems are redefining industries, while climate change and global health challenges demand scientific and technological responses. Yet many of our schools still lack laboratories, science teachers, and digital infrastructure. The result is a worrying mismatch between what the education system produces and what the economy requires.

A heritage-based syllabus, while valuable for instilling patriotism and identity, cannot by itself drive industrialization or technological advancement. Pride in one’s culture must be accompanied by competence in modern skills. A curriculum that overemphasizes the past risks creating citizens who are proud but unprepared, emotionally connected yet economically excluded.

At the same time, a purely science-based curriculum comes with its own dangers. If education becomes entirely utilitarian, focused only on producing workers for the global economy, we risk losing the social and ethical fabric that binds us together. A nation that forgets its heritage loses its moral compass and cultural depth. Zimbabwe cannot afford to raise engineers who lack empathy, or scientists who have no sense of community. The goal, therefore, is not to choose between heritage and science, but to weave them together intelligently.

This means reimagining education as a bridge between tradition and technology. Our heritage can, in fact, be a fertile ground for scientific inquiry. Traditional medicine can be studied through pharmacology. Indigenous farming techniques can be refined through environmental science. Local craftsmanship and mining skills can inform engineering innovations. The connection between the two systems is not oppositional, it is symbiotic.

A balanced curriculum would therefore produce learners who are both rooted and ready, rooted in their identity and values, but ready to compete and innovate in a globalized economy. It would teach coding and robotics alongside Ubuntu and civic ethics. It would prepare learners to build technology that responds to African realities, not merely to imitate foreign models.

For this to work, however, Zimbabwe must confront the practical shortcomings of its education system. Many schools, especially in rural areas, lack the resources to implement a modern, science-oriented curriculum. Laboratories stand empty, computers gather dust, and teachers are stretched thin. If the curriculum is to move beyond rhetoric, the state must invest in teacher training, infrastructure, and continuous curriculum review.

There must also be closer collaboration between schools and industry. Education should not exist in a vacuum. Employers, universities, and innovators must help shape what learners are taught. The private sector, particularly in technology and agriculture, has a role to play in bridging the gap between theory and practice. Without this connection, education risks remaining an academic ritual rather than a tool for transformation.

It is also time to rethink how success is measured in the classroom. Instead of focusing solely on examination results, schools should evaluate problem-solving skills, creativity, and ethical awareness. A student who can design a water purification system for a rural village is far more valuable to society than one who merely recites definitions from a textbook.

Zimbabwe’s future depends on producing citizens who are thinkers, makers, and doers, individuals who understand their culture yet embrace progress. Education must create people who can honour their ancestors while inventing the future. The next generation should not have to choose between heritage and science; they must inherit both.

Ultimately, the most relevant curriculum for this era is one that marries the wisdom of the past with the tools of the future. Zimbabwe’s education system should teach learners that knowing who they are is as important as knowing how to code; that the stories of Great Zimbabwe can inspire new architectural designs; that Ubuntu can coexist with artificial intelligence.

A heritage-based curriculum gives us identity. A science-based curriculum gives us capacity. But the curriculum that will define Zimbabwe’s future is the one that dares to combine both, creating a society that is culturally confident, scientifically competent, and ready to meet the world not as imitators, but as innovators