Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Lee Ju-ho sat down Monday with his Zimbabwean counterpart Amon Murwira, Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development, to enhance academic cooperation between the two nations.

During the meeting, the ministers reviewed the state of education in both countries and explored avenues for deeper collaboration. Key areas discussed included expanding international student exchanges, promoting Official Development Assistance initiatives and improving higher vocational education.

The Ministry of Education expressed optimism that this dialogue would encourage bilateral exchanges in multiple sectors, such as people-to-people exchanges and vocational training programs.

"We hope this meeting will invigorate educational cooperation between South Korea and Zimbabwe, and we will work closely to advance education in both countries," Minister Lee remarked.

The meeting marked the beginning of intensified academic collaboration, with further discussions on implementing these plans expected to take place at the working level shortly, according to a ministry official.

According to UNESCO's Education Country Brief, Zimbabwe, like many other African countries, faces a learning crisis. Learning poverty, defined as the share of children unable to read and understand an age-appropriate text by age 10, is estimated at 89 percent by the World Bank, UNESCO and other organizations.

While specific country estimates are not available for Zimbabwe, the World Bank Capital Index suggests concerning developments, as the primary school completion rate was at 84 percent in 2021 for boys and 86 percent for girls. Gross enrollment in tertiary education was at 8 percent for men in 2017 versus 10 percent for women.