Online Reporter
Sikhumbuzo Moyo [email protected]
AFRICAN Union Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Gaspard
Banyankimbona, is in Zimbabwe on a bench-learning mission to assess the impact and potential scalability of the country’s Heritage-Based Education 5.0 model, an approach that has begun to draw growing attention from across the continent.
The model, introduced under the Second Republic led by President Mnangagwa, is increasingly being recognised as an innovative framework designed to reposition education as a driver of industrialisation, innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainable economic development.
As part of his visit, Prof Banyankimbona on Wednesday paid a courtesy call on Zimbabwe’s Minister of Foreign
Affairs and International Trade, Professor Amon Murwira, where the two discussed the role of education, science and technology in advancing Africa’s development agenda.
The visit is part of wider African union efforts to identify successful home-grown development models that can be adapted and replicated across member states, as the continent seeks to accelerate socio-economic transformation through knowledge-based economies.
Speaking after the meeting, Prof Banyankimbona commended Zimbabwe for taking the lead in developing the
Heritage-Based Education 5.0 framework, saying its principles align closely with the aspirations of the African
Union’s Agenda 2063, which seeks to build a prosperous, integrated and self-reliant Africa driven by its own people.
He said many African countries are still working with education systems that were designed to produce job seekers rather than innovators and entrepreneurs who can create solutions to local challenges.
“Zimbabwe has developed a model that seeks to connect education directly with production, innovation and community development.
This is an approach that many countries on the continent can learn from as Africa seeks to transform its economies and harness the potential of its youthful population,” said Prof Banyankimbona.
He noted that the Heritage-Based Education 5.0 model places strong emphasis on practical problem-solving, innovation and value addition, while ensuring that education remains rooted in African culture, values and identity.
“The integration of heritage, innovation and industrialisation is particularly important because development should not come at the expense of our cultural identity. Africa’s future must be built on systems that recognise our history,
values and indigenous knowledge while embracing modern science and technology,” he said.
During his visit, the AU Commissioner is expected to tour several institutions involved in education, research, innovation, skills development and higher and tertiary learning to gain first-hand insight into how the model is being implemented.
The programme will include engagements with policymakers, academics, researchers, innovators and students, as part of efforts to better understand the achievements, challenges and opportunities linked to Education 5.0.
He is also expected to assess how universities and colleges are turning research into practical products, technologies and businesses that contribute to economic growth and job creation.
Zimbabwe’s Heritage-Based Education 5.0 philosophy marks a shift from the traditional Education 3.0 model, which mainly focused on teaching, research and community service.
Under Education 5.0, institutions of higher and tertiary education are expected not only to teach and conduct research but also to drive innovation and industrialisation through the production of goods, services and technologies that respond to societal needs.
The approach encourages universities and colleges to establish innovation hubs, industrial parks and incubation centres that support ideas from development stage through to commercialisation.
In recent years, a number of local universities have produced a range of goods, including agricultural technologies, medical products, industrial machinery and value-added food products, showing how the Education 5.0 model is being applied in practice.
