Mutare Teachers' College

The Principal’s message

It is a matter of great honor and pleasure that I have been bestowed with the opportunity to lead Mutare Teachers’ College at a time when the heritage based philosophy is the theoretical grounding that guides all practice in Zimbabwe’s higher and tertiary education system.

As such, Mutare Teachers' College implements a transformed curriculum purposed at developing a new breed of a 21st Century teacher. The curriculum is fundamentally tailor made to develop not only young human resources with ethical and moral values but also to stimulate the creative minds of the students and to encourage and nurture their entrepreneurial zeal.

Also through its transformed curriculum, the college aims to develop teacher professionals with competencies that give them a competitive edge in modernising Zimbabwe through transformative research, innovation, industrialisation and community service. Through the excellent tutoring offered by our imminently qualified staff, the college leaves no stone unturned in ensuring that the new breed of teachers acquires high order personal effectiveness skills, specific academic, management and entrepreneurial competencies.

In hot pursuit of the above-mentioned teacher competencies, the College offers the following programmes:

The Two-Year Post ‘A’ Level Programme: The Learning Areas for this programme are Accounting and Business Studies, Computer Science, ChiShona, English, Geography and Environmental Studies, History and Heritage Studies and Mathematics.

The Three-Year Post ‘O’ Level Programme: The Learning Areas are Agriculture, Building Technology and Design, Clothing, Textile and Design, Food Science Technology and Design, Art Technology and Design, Physical Education, Sport and Mass Displays, Science, Accounting and Business Studies, Computer Science, ChiShona, English, Geography and Environmental Studies, History and Heritage Studies and Mathematics.

Diploma in Education Pedagogics: This is a sixteen month programme meant for the applicants who are holders of National Diploma in the following Learning Areas: Agriculture, Building Technology and Design, Clothing, Textile and Design, Food Science Technology and Design, Art Technology and Design, Accounting, Business Studies and Computer Science.

Following the restrictions imposed by the Corona virus, Mutare Teachers’ College took to blended teaching and learning methodologies. Through the domestication of Moodle, the Modelena digital learning platform was launched in 2020. Lectures and assignments are uploaded on the platform and students access, complete and submit assignments digitally and instant feedback is availed to the learners after marking. The effectiveness of this learning pedagogy is enhanced by a state of art ICT infrastructure.

In 2022, the College held its inaugural Research Symposium. The symposium attracted more than forty researchers from different institutions of higher and tertiary education in Zimbabwe. Most of researches presented solved real problems because they generated solutions that lead to the production of goods and services.

A strong believer and practitioner of the dictum Jewel of Excellence, Mutare Teachers’ College is seized with a wide range of innovation projects whose over-arching aim is to contribute meaningfully to the National Development Strategy 1 through commercialised production of goods and services. All our innovations, which hinge on our heritage, fall under the following categories:

Food Science Technology and Design: Production of baobab juice, food confectioneries, prickled candela tomatoes, tomato sauce and scouring powder.

Clothing Textile Technology and Design: Production of automated embroidery for corporate wear; garment construction (graduation gowns, work suits and school uniforms); production of school uniform organizers, medicine organizer, lollypop beads and wallets, cushion covers and the making of door mats from recycled fabric.

Agriculture: Production of organic stock feeds and pesticides.

In the same agriculture category, the college has a thriving farm, flourishing piggery, poultry and fishery projects. This learning area has two greenhouses which are used to produce high quality tomatoes and cucumbers. The greenhouses are complemented by a shade house which is most ideal for the production of the summer crop.

Beacon Publishing House: This is a publishing company established to furnish the Zimbabwean classroom, from ECD to university, with textbooks that celebrate heritage-based knowledge as the springboard for innovation and industrialization.

The High School: The College established a practicing High School which is registered under the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education as an independent college. The vision is that the High School should become a leading practicing school offering high quality tuition through praxis and transformative pedagogics. At the time of writing the school enrolment stands at 387 learners and has a staff compliment of twenty four. Fourteen student-teachers offering a wide spectrum of subjects have been deployed to the school for their Attachment Teaching Practice.

Building Technology and Design: Production of interlocking bricks.

Art Design and Technology: Production of natural dyes.

Science: Production of paint, detergents, floor polish and mosquito repellent candles.

Inclusive Education and ICT: Digital Braille Cell Application System (DBAS)

Mutare Teachers’ College also plans to establish an incubation hub and an industrial park so that, through the collaborative efforts of all innovators and stakeholders, all new projects transform into viable commercial entities.

In terms of credentials, the college has a long history of achievements. The most recent being: The Economy Drivers Awards (2021 and 2022), Megafest Business Awards: Silver Winner for the Outstanding Training Institution of the Year (2021), ZNCC Manicaland Annual Business Awards 2nd Runner Up; Innovation Award (2021 and 2022), Zimbabwe CEO’s Network’s Award of Most Innovative Teacher Development Award (2021) and Manicaland Agricultural Show Society 2nd Piggery Producer Award (2021 and 2022).

Against this backdrop, I strongly believe that Mutare Teachers’ College is progressing very well in the right direction towards the achievement of our vision: “A heritage-based teacher education institution that puts Zimbabwe at the cutting edge in the development of a globally competitive high school teacher.”