Subject : Open Letter to Zim Education Minister – Removal of Colonial School names
Honourable Minister of Primary and Secondary Education
Republic of Zimbabwe
Dear Honourable Minister,
I write this letter openly and respectfully, not in confrontation, but in the national interest.
For more than four decades after Independence, Zimbabwe has made clear strides in reclaiming political sovereignty and advancing education. Yet one unresolved issue continues to sit quietly within our school system: the persistence of colonial-era school names.
Schools named Prince Edward, Churchill, Godfrey Huggins, Lord Malvern, Selborne, Cranborne, Marlborough, Roosevelt, Moffat, Nettleton, Diggleford, Routledge, Frank H. Johnson, Oriel, Mabelreign, Mount Hampden, and others remain part of our public education landscape.
These names were inherited from colonial rule.
They were never subjected to a comprehensive national review.
Why This Matters
Honourable Minister, schools are not neutral spaces.
They are sites of identity formation.
Every day, Zimbabwean children are educated in institutions named after:
• Colonial administrators
• British aristocrats
• Imperial political figures
• Settler families and foreign power
This sits in direct contradiction to an education system that teaches:
• Chimurenga history
• Patriotism
• Heritage-Based Education
• National sovereignty
The contradiction is not theoretical — it is lived daily.
This Is Not About Erasing History
Colonial history belongs in textbooks, museums, and archives.
Honour belongs in names.
No independent nation permanently honours those who denied it self-rule, particularly in institutions meant to produce citizens rather than subjects.
This is not radical.
It is normal.
The Ministry’s Responsibility
Honourable Minister, this matter does not require international permission, ideological debate, or emotional confrontation.
It requires administrative leadership.
The Ministry has both the constitutional mandate and the statutory authority to act.
Silence, however unintentional, now functions as policy.
What the Ministry Should Do Now
I respectfully propose the following practical steps:
1. Publicly acknowledge that colonial-era school names exist and merit review
2. Commission a national audit of such names across provinces
3. Establish clear criteria for renaming, guided by history and heritage
4. Form a heritage advisory committee, including the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe
5. Consult communities, not only elite alumni networks
6. Adopt a phased implementation plan to manage transition
7. Issue a Ministerial Circular clarifying policy direction and procedure
8. Use renaming as a teaching moment, linking it to curriculum and national history
These steps are orderly, consultative, and well within the Ministry’s existing capacity.
Why Delay Is No Longer Neutral
Every year that passes without action quietly affirms colonial honour as untouchable.
Delay is not neutrality.
It is endorsement by omission.
Zimbabwe did not fight for partial independence.
Honourable Minister, history will not ask whether this process was easy.
It will ask whether it was necessary.
The answer to that question is already clear.
What remains is leadership.
I submit this letter in the spirit of national coherence, cultural dignity, and educational integrity, and I trust that the Ministry will rise to the responsibility of completing the symbolic work that Independence began.
Yours sincerely,
Princess Eugene Majuru, Princess of Harare
Author & Cultural Historian
Harare, Zimbabwe
Email harareprincess@gmail.com
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