Professor Rungano Jonas Zvobgo (born 1948) is the Vice Chancellor of

Great Zimbabwe University Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) is an institution of higher learning in the city of Masvingo, Zimbabwe. It is currently situated on the Masvingo Teachers’ College campus seven kilometres east of Masvingo CBD. Currently the institution has a nu ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. His second term ends in 2022. Prior to this position, Professor Zvobgo had been Principal of

Gweru Teacher's College Gweru is a city in central Zimbabwe. Near the geographical centre of the country. 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 beca ...

and subsequently the first deputy vice chancellor of

Midlands State University 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 ...

. Professor Zvobgo is also a representative of the southern region for the

Association of African Universities The Association of African Universities (AAU) ( ar, اتحاد الجامعات الأفريقية, french: Association des universités africaines) is a university association of African universities based in Accra, Ghana. With member institutio ...

(AAU).

Background

Professor Zvobgo comes from one of

's most illustrious families. His most famous brother, Dr

Eddison Zvobgo Eddison Jonasi Mudadirwa Zvobgo (2 October 1935 – 22 August 2004) was a founder of Zimbabwe's ruling party, ZANU–PF, the Patriotic Front's spokesman at the Lancaster House in late 1979,

, was a founding member of

ZANU The Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) was a militant organisation that fought against white minority rule in Rhodesia, formed as a split from the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). ZANU split in 1975 into wings loyal to Robert Mugab ...

, and his other brother, Professor Chengetayi Zvobgo, was a renowned historian at the

University of Zimbabwe The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) is a public university in Harare, Zimbabwe. It opened in 1952 as the University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and was initially affiliated with the University of London. It was later renamed the University ...

. Both brothers are now late. Their father was a prominent leader in the Dutch Reformed Church in the

Masvingo Masvingo is a city in south-eastern Zimbabwe and the capital of Masvingo Province. The city is situated close to Great Zimbabwe, the national monument from which the country takes its name and close to Lake Mutirikwi, its recreational park, th ...

area.

Career

Being a member of a political member meant that the younger Zvobgo, like his older brothers, lived in exile in the 1970s. He first studied in India, and eventually obtained a PhD in Educational Studies from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

in 1980 presenting the thesis ''Government and missionary policies on African secondary education in Southern Rhodesia: with special reference to the Anglican and Wesleyan Methodist churches, 1934-1971''. He then returned to

after independence and worked at various institutions of higher education. When Gweru Teacher's College where he presided over as Principal was upgraded into a state university he became a member of the founding executive as deputy vice chancellor. Zvobgo is a renowned educationist.

Publications

*''Transforming Education: The Zimbabwean Experience'' (College Press, 1986) *''Colonialism and Education in Zimbabwe'' (SAPES, 1994) *''The State, Ideology and Education'' (Mambo Press, 1997) *''The Post-colonial State and Educational Reform'' (ZPH, 1999) *''Contextualising the Curriculum: The Zimbabwean Experience'' (College Press, 2007)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zvobgo, Rungano 1948 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Alumni of the University of Edinburgh