African Indigenous Knowledge Systems and the Decolonial Project: Towards a Genuinely Heritage-Based Education 5.0 Curriculum in Zimbabwe

There seems to be a paucity of literature, particularly on the confluence of African Indigenous Knowledge Systems (AIKSs) and the decolonial project within Zimbabwe’s higher and tertiary education curriculum (herein equated to the Heritage-Based Education 5.0 curriculum). Hence, the current reflection explores the philosophical interface between AIKSs and the decolonial agenda towards a genuinely Heritage-Based Education 5.0 curriculum in Zimbabwe. This reflection is secondary research considered handy where field inquiry is seen to yield little value. Secondary research was preferred because this reflection is predominantly data selection, not data collection. Secondary research was also chosen ahead of field inquiry because documentary evidence is readily available, cost-effective, and the process of data selection is unobtrusive (non-interfering/non-disruptive) and non-reactive (unaffected by the research process). The current reflection is informed by Afrocentrism (sometimes called the Afrocentric Theory) - a principle consistent with the African renaissance, Africanisation agenda, heritage-based philosophy, and decolonisation of education. To foster a shared understanding with the readership, the paper reconceptualises AIKSs and the decolonial project upon which it unravels the two often conflated notions of decoloniality and decolonisation. It is at this juncture that the paper estimates the decolonial potential of AIKSs, concluding that AIKSs are, on the whole, replete with decolonial proclivities. Expediting the integration of AIKSs into Zimbabwe’s Heritage-Based Education 5.0 curriculum, therefore, serves to urgently decolonise higher learning towards indigenous-oriented innovation and industrialisation. The paper, therefore, recommends the formulation of a clear and comprehensive policy framework tailored to guide and expedite the integration of AIKSs into Zimbabwe’s Heritage-Based Education 5.0 curriculum with a view to advancing the decolonial agenda consistent with indigenous-oriented innovation and industrialisation.