Zimpapers Logo

Mutsawashe Mashandure–Herald Correspondent 

THE Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education (ZIMCHE) has announced a group of mainly Cypriot institutions which it says are no longer recognised as degree awarding institutions while the International Institute of Philanthropy (IIP) argues that it is only offering awards to distinguished citizens of the country and not academic degrees.

In a statement yesterday, ZIMCHE said Shard University of India, Genre American University, Parul University, Near East University, the University of Kyrenia and the European University of Lefke and the University of Nicosia all of Cyprus, were not recognised in Zimbabwe as degree offering institutions.  

In an earlier statement last week, ZIMCHE said it did not recognise all degrees offered in Zimbabwe by IIP, which it said had not complied with local regulations.

ZIMCHE said all those awarded honorary doctorate degrees could, therefore, not use the titles.

IIP however, insisted that they were not offering degrees, but awards.

“The International Institute of Philanthropy is not authorised to award degrees in Zimbabwe as it is not a registered higher education institution. Therefore, the awarding of degrees by the International Institute of Philanthropy is not only a violation of the laws of Zimbabwe, but also undermines the integrity of the entire higher education system in Zimbabwe. 

“We take the integrity of the higher education system in Zimbabwe very seriously and will not tolerate any attempts to undermine it,” said ZIMCHE adding that IIP was operating outside the dictates of Section 75 (3) of the Constitution as read with Section 10 (1) of the Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education Act which prohibits institutions not registered and accredited by the ZIMCHE from offering degrees in Zimbabwe.

IIP issued its own statement yesterday in response to ZIMCHE, saying they were not an institution of higher learning as alleged, but that it was only awarding honorary doctorates and not qualifications. 

“The honorary doctor of Humane Letters is classified as an award and not a qualification. It is accompanied by the prefixes h and c, and is classified as an honoris causa degree meant to show respect and appreciation which means it’s an award and not a qualification. 

“All recipients of the said honorary award do not sit for examinations of any kind, do not pay tuition fees, and do not have a syllabus that they study so as to qualify for the said award. We do not hold graduation ceremonies and simply present credentials, honours, and awards to recipients.

“The institute believed that the practice of philanthropy can never be attained academically at any juncture and as such this positive approach is wholly justified as philanthropists and humanitarian practitioners or individuals who practice philanthropy are born and live a life of practising philanthropy. 

“The International Institute of Philanthropy is an institute of excellence, integrity and philanthropy solely dedicated to the advancement of humanity through philanthropy, increasing awareness and understanding of philanthropy, improving its practice, and enhancing participation through public service, education, research, fundraising, and management of non-profits while simultaneously acknowledging, celebrating philanthropists.”