Midlands State University is a government owned university in Zimbabwe. The university has 9 faculties (Agriculture, Arts, Commerce, Education, Engineering, Law, Science, Social Sciences and Medicine) offering a wide variety of courses and many specialist programmes. The university is accredited through the National Council for Higher Education, under the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education of Zimbabwe. The main campus is located in

Gweru Gweru, originally known as Gwelo, is a city in central Zimbabwe. It is on the centre of Midlands Province. Originally an area known to the Ndebele as "The Steep Place" because of the Gweru River's high banks, in 1894 it became the site of a m ...

the third largest city in Zimbabwe. The university adopted a multi campus system therefore it has a satellite campus in the mining town of

Zvishavane Zvishavane, formerly known as Shabani, is a mining town in Midlands Province, Zimbabwe. Surrounded by low hills, it lies west of Masvingo, on the main Bulawayo-Masvingo road. Other roads lead from Zvishavane to Gweru, north, and Mberengwa, ...

and other campuses located in the city of Gweru. TelOne campus is the second popular campus after Main campus.

History

The idea of a university in the

Midlands Province Midlands is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of and a population of 1,811,905 (2022). It is home to various peoples. Located at a central point in the country, it contains speakers of Shona, Ndebele, Tswana, Sotho and Chewa, as well as ...

dates back to the foundation of the National University of Science and Technology when Gweru, which was identified as a possible site for a second university campus in the country, lost its bid to

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; ) is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about ...

. Two other opportunities to host institutions of higher learning (the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

and the

Catholic University Catholic higher education includes universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy See are specifically called pontifical univers ...

) were also missed by the Midlands Province, when the two universities went to

Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...

. It was in the midst of such disappointments that two initiatives converged to give birth to what has since become the Midlands State University. The President R G Mugabe, on the nudging of the provincial political leadership of the Midlands, accepted the idea of a national university being built in the Midlands. This coincided with the then Ministry of Higher Education and Technology's policy of devolution, which was aimed at expanding access to higher education by converting teachers and technical colleges into degree granting institutions. It was through the process of devolution that beginning in 1998 Gweru Teachers College started to enrol students studying for the Bachelor of Commerce with Education and the Bachelor of Science with Education degrees offered by the University of Zimbabwe. The Minister of Higher Education and Technology transformed the devolution project at Gweru into Zimbabwe's third state university by means of the State University in the Midlands Act of April 1999. The new university, whose name was later changed to the Midlands State University, was to be housed at the Gweru Teachers College premises.

Organisation

The titular head of the university is the Chancellor, who is the President of Zimbabwe. The university is governed by a University Council, comprising the university's chief officers, representatives of the Senate, staff and students, nominees of the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education and representatives form various sectors of commerce and civil society. The chief executive of the university is the Vice-Chancellor, who is appointed by the Chancellor after consultation with the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education and the University Council. The Vice-Chancellor is assisted by one or more Pro–Vice-Chancellors, appointed by the University Council with the approval of the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education. The academic authority of the university is vested in the Senate, comprising the university's chief officers, the deans of faculties, all full professors, the chairmen of departments and staff and student representatives. The university is divided into faculties, managed by an executive dean and governed by a Faculty Board comprising all professors and lecturers.

Fully semesterised university

Midlands State University is a fully semestered and modularised University. Enrolment takes place twice a year, in March and in August. Modules offered at any level in a semester are available at the same level during the next semester. This arrangement gives an opportunity to those students who, at the end of a semester are required to 'carry' or 'repeat' failed modules to do so in the next semester. Students enrolled at MSU study for four-year or five-year degree programmes spending their Third Level on Work Related Learning in industry and other work places. Work Related Learning is an approach to teaching and learning which requires a student to spend some time during the course of study on 'hands on' practical experience.

Student life

Residences There is a large number of flats which house male and female students separately. Many of the flats are named after prominent anti-colonial patriots such as

Kaguvi Sekuru Kaguvi (Kagubi, Kakubi), was a ''svikiro'' (medium), a traditionalist leader in pre-colonial Zimbabwe, and a leader in the Shona rebellion of 1896-1897 against European rule, known as the First Chimurenga. The sobriquet "Kaguvi" was a de ...

and Nehanda. In 2013, the university constructed new halls of residence so as to cope with the increasing number of undergraduates. MSU is also currently constructing Halls of residence at its Telone Campus, and these are the most expensive and stylish hostels. The Batanai Campus has two hostels namely Rutendo and Ruzivo. Below is a table of all hostels and their locations: These hostels, however cannot accommodate all students and may not be preferred or afforded by all students therefore a lot of students are accommodated in close neighbourhoods that include Senga, KMP, Nehosho, Windsor Park, Daylesford, Kopje and Gweru East.

Campuses

Midlands State University has many campuses and these include * Main Campus in

* Telone Campus which accommodates the Business and Law students in

* Batanai Campus which accommodates the School of Tourism and Hospitality studies in

* Harare Campus in

* Mutare Campus which houses most Engineering programmes in

Mutare Mutare, formerly known as Umtali until 1982, is the capital and largest city in the province of Manicaland. It is the third most populated in Zimbabwe. Having surpassed Gweru in the 2012 census, with an urban area, urban population of 224,802 ...

* ZVishavane Campus in the mining town of

In 2018, MSU also announced plans of opening another campus in Redcliff Town and back in 2015 news hit the newspapers that MSU had been given land to open a Law School in Kwekwe.

References

External links

* {{authority control Midlands State University Gweru Educational institutions established in 1993 1993 establishments in Zimbabwe Buildings and structures in Midlands Province Education in Midlands Province