In Zimbabwe, mental health is still often whispered about rather than openly discussed.
\Thousands within the university population are affected by mental illness; it causes untold
pain and often severely impairs their ability to function. Most university students laugh with
friends, attend lectures and posts vibrant stories on social media, yet behind all the smiles
they carry a persistent heaviness they cannot name. Words such as anxiety, depression or
stress are rarely used and a majority of university students afflicted with these conditions do
not receive or cannot afford adequate care.
On campuses across the country, students bear these burdens in silence, not only dealing
with academic and economic pressures, but also with a cultural stigma that tell them to
endure in silence. As a result of all these sobering factors, applying the term “stigma” to
mental health is particularly appropriate because it accurately captures the social, cultural and
psychological processes that cause people with mental health conditions to be undermined,
judged, or excluded. As Zimbabwe struggles with rising mental health needs among
university students, this silent crisis challenges communities, educators and policymakers to
rethink how, mental wellbeing is discussed, understood and supported.
When a university student breaks a leg, they receive a medical note, permission to miss
classes and extra time during examinations. The process is clear and rarely questioned. But
when a student cannot get out of bed because of depression, or cannot sit through a three-
hour examination due to a panic disorder or exam anxiety, they suffer in silence because there
is no official policy to approve an extension. Across Zimbabwe’s public universities, none
have a publicly available, standardized policy on academic accommodations for mental
health conditions, according to interviews with student affairs offices and a review on
university websites. In contrast, most have clear guidelines for physical illness or pregnancy.
According to the World Health Organization Mental health is among the leading causes of
academic failure and dropout worldwide. However in Zimbabwe, a student who cannot prove
their distress with a fever or a fracture is often treated not as someone who is unwell, but as
someone who is unwilling. As most universities remain rigid, with strict academic deadlines
and limited mental health accommodations, students’ will continue struggling. This can
worsen students’ mental health leading to drop out or poor academic performance. The
phrase “when the mind breaks but no policy bends” reflects this harsh reality, hence, the need
to fill the gap.
A suitable and practical policy would need to cover free or affordable on-campus counseling
services with referrals and models for trained peer support that are integrated with religious
structures, formal provisions for exam deferrals, deadline extensions and reduced course
loads for students with diagnosed mental health conditions and a clear process for
accommodating requests and protection against academic penalty.
The policy should also ensure guaranteed confidentiality, protection from academic
disadvantage and disciplinary actions whilst including clear limits of confidentiality. Mental
health literacy should be integrated into orientation and other campus activities, including but
not limited to anti-stigma campaigns and training for university leadership. It must also
include peer counselor programs with formal training and supervision, as well as student
mental health clubs or ambassadors.
To ensure success tracking, the policy must require tracking of dropout rates linked to mental
health, enforce regular wellbeing surveys and insist on reporting to institutional governance
structures. It must also ensure that linkages to external health systems are established
emphasizing formal referral agreements with district hospitals, psychiatrists, peer counselors
and the community.
Mental health must also be integrated into university leadership performance frameworks and
a designated budget for mental health must be set aside as well as assign key personnel to
deal with mental health issues at faculty level.
The policy must however not punish students for seeking help or rely on external support or
treat mental health as a response to crisis rather than an on-going component of wellness
As it stands no Zimbabwean university has free and confidential counseling, formal academic
accommodations for students with depression or anxiety, and mandatory training for
lecturers, yet these components combined are the core of a good university mental health
policy. However, students cannot simply say they have anxiety. They must be assessed by a
registered counselor, clinical psychologist, or psychiatrist employed or affiliated with the
university in order to safeguard the policies against abuse.
According to mental health experts, what students need is not charity but a written policy.
Addressing this issue requires more than awareness campaigns. Instead, it requires
implementing flexible policies that guarantee that no student will be penalized for disclosing a mental health condition, increase access to mental health service and actively challenge the societal and cultural stigma surrounding mental health.
NB// About the writer— Cynthia Vimbai Nyatsine is a psychology student at GZU.