The Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education (ZIMCHE) has announced the removal of seven universities from India and Cyprus from its official list of approved schools. This decision follows last week’s request to the International Institute of Philanthropy (IIP) to promptly withdraw honorary Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees awarded to high-profile persons.
In a statement issued on Monday, ZIMCHE noted that seven universities were delisted after a review of their accreditation status by various foreign higher education institutions. No particular explanations were provided.
The statement reads: “This notice is to inform the public that the following institutions are no longer accredited by ZIMCHE: Girne American University (Northern Cyprus), Sharda University of India, Parul University (India), Near East University (Northern Cyprus), University of Kyrenia (Northern Cyprus), The European University of Lefke (Northern Cyprus), and University of Nicosia (Northern Cyprus).
“In light of this development, we strongly urge the public to verify the accreditation status of foreign universities before considering enrollment for themselves or their children. Studying at an unaccredited institution may result in financial loss and have serious implications for one’s academic qualifications and career prospects.”
ZIMCHE recently nullified questionable awards granted by IIP to various prominent individuals, including supporters and backers of Zanu-PF.
In a statement issued last Friday, ZIMCHE boldly declared that the conferment of honorary degrees by IIP violates Zimbabwean laws, specifically section 75(3) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 20) Act, 2013, and section 10(1) of the Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education Act (Chapter 25:27), which prohibit unregistered institutions from offering degrees.
Consequently, ZIMCHE invalidated all degrees awarded by IIP within Zimbabwe and cautioned the public against using titles such as “doctor” from unauthorized institutions.
“We are deeply committed to upholding the integrity of Zimbabwe’s higher education system and will not tolerate any efforts to undermine it,” stated ZIMCHE.
IIP was instructed to retract all conferred degrees and notify recipients publicly.
Several notable individuals, including Eric Francis Niyonsaba, director of Kambucha Beverages, musician Mudiwa Hood, controversial businessman Dilesh Nguwaya of Drax International, and Geo Pomona Waste Management, who has connections to the First Family, were recently granted degrees by IIP.
Additionally, Midlands businesswoman Smelly Dube, Fatima Maruta, and Paul Shambare were honored with Honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters (DHL) by IIP at a recent ceremony in Harare, overseen by Enrico Maverick, IIP’s country representative known for distributing questionable awards.
According to NewZimbabwe, prospective recipients of these spurious doctorates were required to pay a hefty fee of US$1,000 to attend the conferment ceremony in Harare. Failure to pay resulted in automatic exclusion from receiving the counterfeit qualifications.