[4] The education system in Zimbabwe encompasses 13 years of primary and secondary school and runs from January to December.

[7] The country is currently working toward the Sustainable Development Goal of providing universal and free education to all students by 2030.

Missionary schools provided an education for the indigenous population that focused on agricultural production and industrial development including carpentry and building.

[12] N.J. Atkinson claims that in order to control the local population, the Company limited education and censored knowledge in schools.

[11] Furthermore, he argues that the eurocentric education system was a structural institution that reinforced the superiority of White settlers even though, they were the minority of the population.

[11] Missionary schools perpetuated social and economic repression of the indigenous population by reducing their chances of earning well-paying jobs or positions of power.

[13] Rugare Mapako claims education to Africans offered limited academic and foundational skills in order to promote labor exploitation and indentured servitude.

[14] Limited access to a quality education kept Africans subordinate and inferior to White colonists in order to advance British political and economic gains.

[16] Segregation of schools based on funding was most extreme in the 1970s because Europeans only represented a few per cent of Zimbabwe's population, but were allocated around 90% of government spending on education.

[16] These schools were located in white suburbs that denied housing opportunities for Africans, reinforcing segregation based on ethnicity and race.

[citation needed] The Minister of Education brought in teachers from Australia, Britain and Canada for a short period of time to fill the teaching gaps.

[26] By the end of 2008, most schools and hospitals were shut down due to thousands of teachers leaving the profession, an economic crisis, an increase in HIV and AIDS, and an outbreak of cholera in 2008 leading to a national epidemic.

[29] The Government of National Unity suspended the Zimbabwe currency to implement full dollarization, reducing hyperinflation and increasing social expenditures.

[30][31] Zimbabwe's focus on expanding education opportunities for the past 25 years has led to national accomplishments including achieving a literacy rate comparable to other Africa countries at 51% from ages 15 to 24.

Their powers include the recruitment and dismissal of teachers, the preservation of facilities and the act of borrowing money and applying for grants.

The decentralization of schools combats the highly centralized structure of the government in hopes to assist the operation and development of education.

[citation needed] Preschools are directed by the Early Childhood Development (ECD) system under the Ministry of Primary and Second Education.

[5] Rural primary schools teach students in their local native language, typically in Shona or Ndebele, then transition to English by Grade 3.

[45] This examination is ranked on a letter scale and can determine student achievement, selection for "A-Level" schools and employment status.

[13][45] Students have the option to enroll in A-Level secondary education or can attend teacher training, technical, agricultural, polytechnic and nursing colleges.

[14] Programs like the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) have developed to prevent orphans and vulnerable children from dropping out of primary school due to the expenses.

[37] There is a current push for inclusionary schools in order to provide quality education for students with physical and mental disabilities.

A lack of education for females correlates with developmental risks including adolescent pregnancy, HIV and AIDs, poor health and poverty.

[53] In times of economic hardship, resources for education are allocated to males more than females due to labor roles, social values and gender expectations.

[18] However, reports from the UN Children's Fund claim that Zimbabwe's gender gap in education is smaller than many other African countries.

[53] Textbooks are a method to analyzing gender relations and roles in Zimbabwe's curriculum based on the research of Gudhlanga et al.[54] Gudhlanga et al. claims that gender stereotyping is prevalent in textbooks as males are used to describe scientific or technical fields, leadership positions and jobs rather than females.

[56][17] Marked by a time period of hyperinflation, teachers were one of the lowest paid professions in the 2000s, receiving the equivalence of $10 US dollars for every three months of teaching.

[11][57] Thousands of teachers protested, left public education and migrated to other countries in response to the economic crisis.

[11] Teachers would use their off time during the year to hoard goods from other country and resell them in Zimbabwe to earn a livable living that their teaching salaries did not satisfy.

[11] Teachers were encouraged to reenter the profession and move back to Zimbabwe, but thousands never returned and found higher paying positions elsewhere.