Midlands State University Mutare Campus

Midlands State University Mutare Campus – Details of Midlands State University (MSU) Mutare Campus

Mutare (known as Umtali until 1983) is the fourth largest city in Zimbabwe, with an urban population of approximately 188,243 and rural population of approximately 260,567. It is the capital of Manicaland province. See Also>> Midlands State University Intake .

The town lies north of the Bvumba Mountains and south of the Imbeza Valley. Christmas Pass is a mountain pass that leads into the city from the west. The pass was so named by some of the colonial pioneers who camped at the foot of the pass on Christmas Day 1890.

Mutare is home to Edmore Mukwindidza,the Mutare Museum, the Utopia House Museum dedicated to Kingsley Fairbridge, the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Murahwa Hill, known for its rock paintings and Iron Age village, Cross Kopje with a memorial to Zimbabweans and Mozambicans killed in World War I and a nature reserve Cecil Kopje and Tigers Kloof. The Mutare Boys’ High Chapel was constructed in honour of former Old boys who perished in World War II, situated on a hilly knoll at Mutare Boys High (then Umtali Boys High).

Mutare is served by rail with daily passenger and freight links to the towns of Nyazura, Rusape and Harare.

There are two small aerodromes; the smallest is at Mutare Provincial Hospital a very small light aircraft strip for emergency evacuation (now defunct) and a light plane aerodrome in Sakubva near Mutare Teachers College. There is yet a third airport which was constructed in Chiadzwa to carry diamonds for processing in Harare.

Mutare Campus which houses most Engineering programmes in Mutare

The University was founded as the country faced its worst economic challenges arising out of illegal sanctions imposed by western countries. This in turn severely limited state capacity to support public institutions, especially Universities. The institution had to come up with strategies of raising income to provide minimum physical infrastructure for both teaching and its management, to provide for contractual requirements of staff beyond the Government salaries and to support a massive staff development programme especially following the 2008/9 exodus of human skills from Zimbabwe. Quite a number of fundraising and income generation initiatives were tried but only one in the end was a success. And that was the establishment of the parallel programmes, which we borrowed from East African Universities. It is an initiative which supported spectacular infrastructure development and production of suitably qualified teaching, administrative and support staff, when the rest of the country was going through its worst economic crisis. This impressive growth translated itself in the successful operationalization of the multi-campus concept leading to the establishment of the Zvishavane, Harare and Kwekwe campuses. In recognition of its strong-willed efforts as well as sound leadership Midlands State University was also mandated to incubate the Manicaland College of Applied Sciences until it became a fully-fledged State University of Applied Sciences.