A third-year student’s distress call

Garvin Maduku
THE Government has come up with the economic blueprint, Zim-Asset, with the noble vision to get the country back to its glory days. I for one believe, with the right people and determined hearts, we will get where we see ourselves in a few years. However, this can only happen when there is an enabling environment for the right people to be brought up or nurtured to build the dreams that we have. From a third year student’s perspective, there is no such environment momentarily.

Being a third-year Purchasing and Supply student at Bindura University of Science Education, I have had moments to ponder about how unfortunate we have become as students.

It is a prerequisite for graduation that one should have gone for attachment, for those that are doing four-year programmes. Inasmuch as this is the expected, the business world has not been conducive enough to make this a reality. Students are in a quandary, and I mean a BIG one for that matter.

I sent exactly 50 resumes to companies around the country. Surprisingly I was only called for one interview which I passed and got me “employed” at that company. This was back in August. Unfortunately a number of my friends who sent the same number of resumes, are yet to get even a single call. Just thinking about this for a minute will reveal that there is need to urgently address our plight.

This means there a several classmates of mine that are still looking for attachment, not to speak of other commercial students and even more, those from other programmes. I will not be selfish as not to be worried about others from our sister varsities.

We are all struggling. It is high time there was intervention from our Government to address this. Any further delay will cause even more problems for our young brothers and sisters who are getting up the Educational ladder.

For Zim-Asset to serve its purpose there is need for professionals to keep things going. Where will these people come from if the current aspirants are involuntarily pushed into deferring their studies as a result of not finding attachment?

Since our Government allows us to contribute in our own way to the economy, there is need to alleviate our pain. As future leaders we are in dire need of help. Is it that no one is actually noticing? Or that we were silent while this misfortune pushed us beyond what we are comfortable with?

We have big plans for the country and the plans are only going to bear fruit if the enabling factors to such are treated with equal priority. Let there be an instrument that just gives students a chance to learn and be ready to serve whenever called to do so. If they are to find employment and learn as is supposed to be the case, whatever follows will be addressed when it falls on us.

There has been a requirement for companies to cede 51 percent of their shares to locals, let the same approach be used for students. What if the Government was to say every company, by virtue of it being operational, should have a minimum number of attachés each year?

Wouldn’t that go a long way into helping students? Every company would be required to have attachés in relation to its size and function. As students we are primarily supposed to offer free labour. This should not make companies scared of having a higher wage bill because we are supposed to be attached for educational purposes.

We all look forward to getting paid, yes that’s what we say, but that is only when reality would be still hovering over our heads. Once it sinks in, all talk about money will vanish, and we will just need to be attached.

My call as a concerned citizen and student at the same time is that let Government come up with a platform that will ensure that students get attached just as expected. Failure to do that will be a blow in the face of the education sector to begin with. At least Government should allow us to finish our studies then face unemployment challenges with a good educational track record.

If we can’t even finish our studies properly, how does anyone expect us to expect a brighter future? We would be eternally grateful if we were to be given a platform to discuss our concerns; not just that but we would even be indebted to the Government if our brothers were not to get into such problems as well.

We feel this should be addressed as a critical matter that requires urgent attention. Hopefully one day this will be debated/discussed in a Parliamentary session.