Re-evaluating Zimbabwe’s Heritage-Based Education 5.0: Toward a transformative and emancipatory pedagogy
Keywords:
Education, heritage, indigenous knowledge systems, innovation, industrialisationAbstract
Zimbabwe’s education system has struggled to adapt sustainably to the complex demands of the twenty-first century, prompting the implementation of multiple curriculum reforms. This study examines the Heritage-Based Education 5.0, a de-colonial initiative aimed at reconfiguring the national education framework to foster creativity, critical thinking, problemsolving, and collaboration within universities and colleges. By interrogating its underlying principles, philosophical foundations, and practical applications, the research assesses its potential to support prosperity and sustainable development. Central to the analysis is the question of whether the post-independence emphasis on a romanticised, simplistic return to tradition can effectively catalyse innovation and industrialisation within contemporary institutions still operating largely within Western paradigms of knowledge production. Employing a mixed-methods approach, comprising interviews, observations, and secondary data review, the findings reveal that while Heritage-Based Education 5.0 aims to dismantle colonial legacies and embed indigenous cultural heritage, indigenous knowledge systems remain marginalised. The study concludes that indigenous values and religious cultures are insufficiently harnessed, limiting the alignment of national education, innovation, science, and technology development with broader developmental goals.
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