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ZOU has made strides in makiing adult learning effective

A letter appeared in both The Herald and The Chronicle on the January 9, 2014, alleging corruption at the Zimbabwe Open University.
This letter is the latest in a series of articles appearing in the papers since 2012, all directed at discrediting university.
As ZOU alumni, we see this as an unwarranted attack on our bona fide qualifications which have totally and very positively changed our lives. It is our duty as the beneficiaries of open and distance learning to tell the nation the truth about the situation at ZOU.

In the first place, investigations on the allegations have been carried out by professional experts who have found no wrong doing of the magnitude alleged in the articles.

It is, therefore, a measure of being small-minded to keep harping on issues that are now water under the bridge. The issues that are alluded to occurred in 2009 and corrective measures since have been taken.

It would be equally small-minded of us as alumni of ZOU, to write that an apparently very reputable university spent a fortune buying curtains that were no better than flour bags for blocks and blocks of halls of residence. We should be cognisant of the fact that the then university administration took steps to correct the errors and the culprits were dealt with accordingly.

On the matter of the council, Honourable Ministers (for there have been three Honourable Ministers during the course of these allegations) and other authorities not doing anything about the alleged corruption, the writer should be advised that a great deal has been done and the investigations have proved these allegations to be unfounded.

ZOU has had two university councils during the period: the Mahoso-led and the Samukange-led councils. Surely, if there is anything seriously wrong about the way things are going on at ZOU, one of them should have cried foul by now.

It should also be noted that it is not just the ZOU councils that have looked into this matter, but also reputable external auditors, the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Auditor-General, who have all absolved the university of wrong-doing.

In addition if the goings-on at ZOU were that bad, surely the Chancellor of the University, President Mugabe, would not continue to bless the operations of that university, let alone confer degrees.

The writer should introspect before launching abusive attacks on our alma mater.
ZOU is an internationally reputable university. Locally, ZOU has won the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce Awards during the last two years for producing the best manpower in terms of service to the commercial and industrial sectors in the country.

When everybody from other universities in the country bolted across the national borders looking for greener pastures, ZOU graduates, like myself remained put.

Government now, and in the future, will depend on us to see that the goals of Zim-Asset are achieved.
Internationally, ZOU has won 11 awards in each of the years 2012 and 2013. An argument worth its salt should reveal why both national and international bodies keep supporting a corrupt institution.

Maybe the writer ought to be advised that ZOU has been in the forefront of supporting the Government policy with the minimum resources at its disposal.

During the time when the World Economic Recession gripped the nation, almost all State universities closed down, feigning lack of financial and other resources. ZOU did not close and yet its financial support was no better than other State universities.

We (the alumni) are some of the graduates who went through our education programmes and completed our degrees while those from other Universities were waiting for them to open.

We were sponsored by our employers and are determined to take part in national development and are proud to work with our Government to ensure success of the national agenda.

We would not have been this advanced had our university decided to go to sleep like those that closed shop during the recession. Such magnanimity of being able to achieve so much with so little and where others totally fail should be applauded and not denigrated.

The discussion of why the population at ZOU has fallen to low levels should also be seen in the same context. With nearly 80 percent unemployment in the country, people who crave for ZOU education cannot save enough cash for their studies.

ZOU is not a profit-making university, but it has to break even in order to serve the nation effectively. While the fees charged are just for that, because of economic circumstances, many people cannot cope. Therefore, wanton conclusions on numbers as stated by the Concerned Citizen should be rejected with the contempt they deserve.

Let it be made clear to the nation that the ZOU practices, qualifications and the way the university does its business are top-of-the-range.
ZOU has worked to be ISO 9001 Certified and will get that certification because we know that it deserves it. The anomalies identified are exaggerated.

Those universities that are not as confident as ZOU can never subject themselves to such rigorous practices as ISO 9001 Certification.
One should also take note that ZOU is a decentralised university found in all provinces in Zimbabwe and is seeking ISO 9001 Certification in a bid to give the best service to the nation.

One should also see the confidence in that ZOU leaves no stone unturned in developing quality human power for Zimbabwe. The ISO Certification programme cannot be as easy as those other places based on a single campus can have it because ZOU is 11 universities in one in terms of its geographical distribution.

Yet it is managing to standardise its operations beyond any shadow of doubt and will match the ISO 9001 Certification standards if not do even better.

Concerned Citizen must realise that ZOU is manned by innovative and creative minds whose revolutionary ideas are anathema to the conservatives like Concerned Citizen In addition, the anomalies mentions are mainly of a cosmetic nature and ZOU has a plan already to correct them.

ZOU is, however, determined to achieve it and it will: we know it will.
As we see it, as ZOU alumni, this is an attempt to offset the successes we have achieved at ZOU and Concerned Citizen wants to do it through the back door.

If Concerned Citizen is really serious about developing Zimbabwe, let us compete to do good for our nation by being proactive, not destructive.

Ne ZOU zvinoita.

Compiled by ZOU Alumni