Recently appointed holder of the Mazisi Kunene Research Chair, Professor Nompumelelo Zondi, delivered her inaugural guest lecture at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s (UKZN) School of Education on the Edgewood campus voicing strong support for a fundamental reimagining of education through an African-centred approach.

Zondi said it brought her special joy that her first guest lecture as Chair took place at UKZN’s School of Education and expressed hope for further lectures and collaboration.

Titled: ‘Reimagining Education with Mazisi Kunene: Curriculum Inclusion, Research Partnerships, and Preparing Teachers for the Twenty-First Century Classroom’, the lecture brought the intellectual legacy of renowned South African poet and scholar Mazisi Kunene into the conversation with contemporary questions about curriculum, research and teacher preparation. It considered how Kunene’s work could inform the preparation of teachers and support an education system firmly rooted in African knowledge systems.

Distinguishing between learning ‘on’ and ‘about’ Africa and learning ‘with’ Africa, Zondi called for a shift away from approaches that position Africa merely as an object of study. Instead, she argued for an educational model in which African knowledge, intellectual traditions and communities actively participate in the production of knowledge.

“This lecture argues for a shift from education on and about Africa to Education with Africa,” she said.

The lecture focused on three interconnected pillars: curriculum inclusion, research partnerships and teacher preparation.

On curriculum inclusion, Zondi highlighted the importance of incorporating African intellectual traditions into the education of future teachers. She proposed that Kunene’s epic oral traditions, literature and children’s stories could be integrated into Education modules, giving student teachers opportunities to engage with African knowledge systems before entering classrooms.

The second pillar focused on research partnerships. Rather than treating communities as sources from which researchers simply extract information, Zondi advocated research conducted with communities through collaboration and co-creation. The lecture identified opportunities for joint postgraduate supervision, curriculum development and collaborative research between the Mazisi Kunene Research Chair and the School of Education.

Reflecting on the collaboration, Zondi said: “I was proud to propose this lecture to Professor Emmanuel Mgqwashu, the Dean and Head of the School of Education, and he showed immense support for it and other lectures in the future. Students should know how much the School of Education matters at UKZN.”

The third pillar addressed teacher preparation. Zondi questioned the marginal place often given to African intellectual traditions in teacher education and called for them to become a more central part of what future teachers learn.

She also raised questions about the place of Shakespeare in school curricula and the visibility afforded to African literary figures such as Kunene and Benedict Vilakazi. Her challenge was to consider how African literary figures might be recognised and taught with a significance comparable to that accorded to Shakespeare.

For Zondi, the issue is not simply about adding more African content to an existing curriculum. It also requires reconsidering how knowledge is taught and whose knowledge is recognised as valuable.

The lecture presented Kunene not only as a poet, but also as a philosopher and educational thinker whose intellectual legacy can contribute to novel approaches to teaching and learning. Zondi further emphasised the importance of African languages, particularly isiZulu, indigenous knowledge systems and interdisciplinary scholarship that connect academic work with lived community realities.

The lecture’s central idea was captured in its closing call: “Reimagining Education with Africa”. Zondi challenged educators and researchers to consider what today’s educational choices will mean for future generations. She asked whether learners, looking back a decade from now, would say they had been taught “on Africa,” “about Africa” or “with Africa.”

This question reflects the broader vision of the Mazisi Kunene Research Chair: to advance African-centred scholarship and strengthen connections between the humanities, teacher education, research and communities. The inaugural guest lecture also opened the way for deeper collaboration between the Chair and the School of Education, including the co-design of courses and educational resources that bring Kunene’s intellectual legacy into teacher preparation.

A distinguished UKZN alumna who completed both her undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the institution, Professor Zondi has been a dedicated staff member since 1995. Her academic career is defined by expertise in literature and gender studies, alongside a strong commitment to mentoring emerging scholars and fostering collaborative, socially responsive scholarship.

The inaugural guest lecture marked an important step in establishing the vision of the Mazisi Kunene Research Chair and created a platform for continued discussion about how African intellectual traditions can shape curriculum development, research and the preparation of teachers for the 21st-century classroom.

Words: Nduduzo Duma

Photograph: Supplied