Making a Case for the Development of a University Records and Archives Management Programme at the National University of Science and Technology in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The importance of institutional archives cannot be denied especially where institutions of higher learning are concerned. Universities generate a lot of records, which are at the heart of their administrative and academic activities. Due to the importance of records in institutions of higher learning, universities all over the world have established institutional archives to manage a plethora of recorded information which document their daily activities, transactions, culture and history. The National University of Science and Technology in Zimbabwe currently has no dedicated records and archives management staff committed to managing records which are key to the survival of the university. Universities that have established records and archives management programmes are benefiting from such establishments and NUST can learn from such universities. This article makes a case for the need to establish a university records and archives management programme at the National University of Science and Technology in Zimbabwe.Literature has been reviewed to show how university records and archives management programmes have proved to be important in other institutions of higher learning around the world.