News / Education
Zinatha to re-open medical school
20 Mar 2016 at 11:08hrs | Views
The Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association is set to re-open its medical school in Harare.
The Zimbabwe School of African Traditional Medicine was founded in 1998 by Professor Gordon Chavhunduka and is registered by the Higher and Tertiary Education Ministry.
It was however hit by serious financial challenges during the hyper-inflation period, forcing Zinatha to temporarily close it.
Zinatha national education secretary Mr Prince Mutandi Sibanda said medicine was the science and art of healing, and their school sought to provide answers to misunderstood concepts of African traditional medicine and healing.
"All human societies have medical beliefs that provide explanations for birth, death, and disease. Throughout history, illness has been attributed to witchcraft, demons, adverse astral influence, or the will of the gods.
"The school will be dealing with those issues at length," said Mr Sibanda.
Admission to the school would be based on academic merit and other factors like relevant work experience and character assessment.
"There are no restrictions on admitting students at the school. This is adult open learning but we will consider maturity as well as some academic qualifications if necessary," he clarified.
He said graduands would get certificates allowing them to either practice traditional medicine or further studies in related fields. The Zinatha national educational secretary highlighted other plans lined up for the year.
Zinatha has an estimated membership of more than 45 000 people.
The Zimbabwe School of African Traditional Medicine was founded in 1998 by Professor Gordon Chavhunduka and is registered by the Higher and Tertiary Education Ministry.
It was however hit by serious financial challenges during the hyper-inflation period, forcing Zinatha to temporarily close it.
Zinatha national education secretary Mr Prince Mutandi Sibanda said medicine was the science and art of healing, and their school sought to provide answers to misunderstood concepts of African traditional medicine and healing.
"All human societies have medical beliefs that provide explanations for birth, death, and disease. Throughout history, illness has been attributed to witchcraft, demons, adverse astral influence, or the will of the gods.
"The school will be dealing with those issues at length," said Mr Sibanda.
Admission to the school would be based on academic merit and other factors like relevant work experience and character assessment.
"There are no restrictions on admitting students at the school. This is adult open learning but we will consider maturity as well as some academic qualifications if necessary," he clarified.
He said graduands would get certificates allowing them to either practice traditional medicine or further studies in related fields. The Zinatha national educational secretary highlighted other plans lined up for the year.
Zinatha has an estimated membership of more than 45 000 people.
Source - Sunday Mail
