ZSS1 - Purpose and Relevance of ZSS

Topic 1: Zimbabwe Strategic
Studies
Definition and Explanation of
the ZSS Module
Topic 1: Aims and Objectives
Aims:
The topic aims to:
(i) Define (Zimbabwe) Strategic Studies.
(ii) State the main aims of the ZSS module.
(iii) Explain the purpose/rationale of the ZSS module.
Objectives:
• By the end of the topic, students should able to:
(i) Define what ZSS refers to.
(ii) List and explain the major aims of the ZSS module.
(iii) Explain the rationale behind introducing the ZSS
module to university students.
What is Zimbabwe Strategic Studies?
• The ZSS module can be defined as civic or citizenship
education designed for higher education students to
appreciate and understand the various aspects (history,
cultural values, socio-economic and political realities and
international relations) of their nation so that as citizens
they enhance their responsibility to their nation.
• In other words, it educates students to be useful citizens. It
moulds them to be patriotic, to value national interests and
be ready and willing to participate in their nation’s
developmental endeavours.
• Zimbabwe is not alone in this educational exercise; the
world over, many countries teach civic education right from
kindergarten to tertiary education. Again strategic studies is
part and parcel of the curricula of many universities globally.
What does ZSS aim to?
ZSS aims to:
• Explain to students the sovereignty of Zimbabwe as a nation.
• Introduce students to Zimbabwe’s historical trajectory.
• Inculcate in students attributes of patriotism, sense of
belonging, national pride and identity.
• Promote Ubuntu/Unhu-based responsible behaviour among
students.
• Inculcate a sense of good citizenship among students.
• Produce graduates who understand Zimbabwe’s strategic
place and interests in regional, continental and global affairs.
• Motivate graduates to understand and take their positions as
professionals in Zimbabwe’s nation-building efforts.
Purpose and Relevance of ZSS
(i) Promoting the understanding of national interests
• Globally nations have developed because their citizens have
been able to understand and embrace their nation’s national
interests. That understanding nurtures in them the belief that
their nation is not only as good and important as others, but also
that the onus to transform it is a burden they themselves should
shoulder.
(ii) Inculcating the spirit of patriotism
• Inculcating the spirit of patriotism is at the centre of this
module. The indispensability of patriotism to nation-building
cannot be over-emphasized. Without that commitment a nation
is devoid of focus, is vulnerable to domination and exploitation
by others and exposed to all sorts of instability and such
challenges as civil wars, lawlessness, tribalism and corruption.
Purpose and Relevance (Continued)
(iii) Understanding national heritage and indigenous knowledge
systems
• A nation’s socio-historical and cultural experiences form a
heritage on which its present generations draw inspiration to
further develop and sustain national progress as well as avoiding
the mistakes of yesterday. Both the tangible and intangible local
heritage of a nation constitutes its indigenous knowledge systems
(IKS).
• IKS refers to knowledge forms and skills that were/are produced

and utilized within specific local cultural/national contexts and in
a specific geographical location. IKS provides us with an avenue to
learn and appreciate Zimbabwe’s locally developed ideas, values,
tools, technologies and the arts utilized to transform people’s
lives, protect them from natural and man-made vagaries and
more importantly ensure that they are in control of their
environment, resources and destiny.
Understanding National Heritage and IKS
(Continued)
• But why are they called systems? They constitute a
mechanism employed to bring out practical results or
solutions that change and/or enhance the way people live.
• Nel (2008) states that by referring to them as a system, we
suggest “the holistic nature of the knowledge as it links up
and relates to all aspects of life and the environment as it
also refers to the plurality of both its properties and
functions” and also that, “similar to any discipline, AIKS
embody ethical standards, standards of responsibility,
transmission and a system of rules and practices.”
• Thus ZSS sensitizes students to the importance of IKS for
them to appreciate indigenous creativity, identities,
values, innovation and local models of development.
(iv) Citizenship, national unity and pride
• Students should understand citizenship in order to have a sense of
belonging, identity and national pride. When citizens feel they belong to
and thus strongly identify with their nation, the outcome is patriotism.
Simply put, they would love their nation, develop pride in and feel
emotionally attached to it. They would work responsibly and
accountably. Building a sense of belonging among citizens promotes
national unity, one of the central pillars of nation-building.
(v) Inculcating Ubuntu/Unhu values
• As an Afro-centred philosophy, Ubuntu/Unhu is about humanness and
proper citizenship. It provides students with the guidelines and precepts
of how to interact effectively with their fellow country men and women.
It underscores the need to behave morally, ethically, accountably,
honestly, responsibly, professionally and cherish love, peace, tolerance,
humility and togetherness, among other countless positive attributes of
good behaviour. It condemns behaviour harmful to society such as all
forms of crime and exploitation of fellow human beings.
(vi) Control of national destiny
• Only Zimbabweans (and not others) possess
the right, duty and privilege to determine
their nation’s destiny. The ZSS module
underscores this critical point.
(vii) Defending sovereignty and national gains
• In international law every nation has the right
to sovereignty and self-determination. It is
expected to fully enjoy and effectively defend
that sovereignty and all the gains a nation has
achieved.
Relevance and Purpose (Continued)
(viii) Providing students with inspiration and

motivation
• ZSS inspires and motivates graduates to find
their professional spaces and also realize their
potential and (re)direct it to developing their
nation both physically and aesthetically.
Conclusion
• The topic has underscored the following issues
students are supposed to understand:
• Definition of (Zimbabwe) Strategic Studies.
• The aims of ZSS.
• The rationale behind teaching the ZSS module
to university students.
• Of important mention to (iii) above are
Ubuntu/Unhu values and IKS.

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Topic 1: Zimbabwe Strategic

• IKS refers to knowledge forms and skills that were/are produced

(viii) Providing students with inspiration and

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