The Role of School Development Committees in School Governance and Development in Mission Schools in Zimbabwe

School Development Committees (SDCs) occupy a central but contested position in Zimbabwean school governance because they connect parents and communities with school leadership and the responsible authority. This position is particularly complex in mission schools, where denominational ownership and government regulation operate alongside statutory parent participation. The article examines how SDCs contribute to governance and school development in mission schools and assesses whether the existing legal framework provides sufficiently clear authority, accountability and coordination. A literature-based qualitative and documentary approach is used, drawing on recent academic studies, foundational Zimbabwean scholarship, legislation, regulations and policy guidance. According to the analysis, SDCs facilitate participatory decision making, fiscal accountability, resource mobilization, infrastructure development, and community representation, but their effectiveness is often hampered by inadequate legal and financial literacy, lack of resources, unequal access to information, and conflicts with the school leadership or responsible authority. The legal framework ensures that SDCs have been recognized, but it also leads to interdependence, since the responsible authority has become essential for setting up and running the governance system of the school. In mission schools, such an approach may encourage collaboration, but it may also result in duplication of authority over financial management, development planning, procurement processes, and institution identity. Therefore, it can be argued that the key issue of governance is not the lack of SDCs but unclear relationships between statutory parent governance and denominational and professional school management.

School Development Committees; school governance; mission schools; responsible authorities; school development; Zimbabwe; Education Act

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