UZ Law Students Reject Allegations Over Legitimacy...

UZ Law Students Reject Allegations Over Legitimacy of Degrees

Zim Now Writer

Final-year law students at the University of Zimbabwe have come out strongly against claims by the Association of University Teachers and others that their degrees are academically compromised, dismissing the allegations as baseless and damaging.

In a statement, the Zimbabwe Law Students Association, representing graduating law classes, said assertions over the Labour Law module and dissertation supervision were “misleading” and amounted to an unfair attack on the integrity of both students and their academic programme.

The AUT had reportedly raised concerns about the Labour Law course delivery, citing incomplete instruction and questions over pass rates. However, ZILSA insists that lecturers Munyaradzi Gwisai and Ms. Chigumba personally taught over 75% of the module, with an adjunct lecturer covering the remaining topics after being briefed on prior assessments given to students. The association stressed that the final examination, deferred from May to 27 June, was preceded by the full provision of course materials, giving students “over 50 extra days” for preparation.

“Questioning the module’s legitimacy is to undermine their own teaching contributions and the students’ genuine academic engagement,” the statement said, adding that last year’s low pass rate in Labour Law had motivated students to work even harder.

On dissertations, ZILSA said the claim of unsupervised research projects was “wholly unsubstantiated”, insisting that students received supervisors, guidance and feedback in line with UZ’s academic standards. The group noted that dissertation work spans a full academic year, with most students having completed the bulk of their research before industrial action by lecturers began in the second semester.

The association criticised what it described as an “intellectually dishonest” attempt to discredit graduates based on “isolated administrative or unfounded procedural grievances”, arguing that final-year students had successfully completed over 40 modules in their degree.

“We fully understand that lecturers had their concerns about remuneration, which can be addressed amicably without the need to do a smear campaign on graduating students,” the statement read. “Tarnishing the image of graduates does not advance reform; it undermines the very principles of justice and fairness that legal education seeks to instill.”

ZILSA called on AUT and other stakeholders to address disputes directly with the university administration rather than “misplacing institutional frustrations onto students”. The statement concluded that law schools produce law graduates, but it is the profession that determines who becomes a lawyer.