Chronicle Editor
Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter
RENOVATIONS for the temporary Binga Polytechnic College premises started last Tuesday while offer letters have been issued to aspiring students, all from Binga district. The Government recently released $50 million towards the development of Binga Polytechnic College, which is at Binga Centre where there used to be a farmers vocational training centre.
Binga Polytechnic College is enrolling students, some without five ordinary levels which is a general level entry point for most tertiary institutions. The Government waived the minimum qualification for Binga Polytechnic as part of an affirmative action meant to benefit students from the once marginalised district.
Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Minister, Professor Amon Murwira, said the Government is more concerned with developing skills hence Binga Polytechnic will operate like Westgate Training Centre in Bulawayo where students do not need five ordinary levels to be enrolled.
A Chronicle news crew visited Binga on Friday and observed a team from Bulawayo Polytechnic College, which is incubating the new learning institution, already on the ground working on the renovations.
Bulawayo Polytechnic College students were working with their supervisors. The news crew observed that electrical wiring had been done in some of the rooms while new doors had been fitted and the buildings are also set to be painted. Drop side windows were being installed in one of the rooms that is going to be used as a lecture room.
An advert has been placed at Binga Rural District Council offices detailing the courses to be offered at the new institution. These include a National Certificate, which will require students to have five ordinary level passes including Mathematics and English and National Foundation Certificate courses whose entry level point is to have learnt up to Form Two.
Courses offered under National Certificate are accounting, banking and finance, motor mechanics, brick and block laying, plumbing and drain laying, electrical power engineering, tourism and hospitality management, fabrication engineering while horticulture does not require students to have ordinary levels.
Courses that will be offered under the NFC are bookkeeping, business calculations, car maintenance, tractor maintenance, brick and block laying, electrical power installation, bakery studies, food preparation, food and beverage services, basic welding techniques and ornamental horticulture.
Today (August 29) is the closing date for those who want to enrol and authorities say they are targeting to enrol 40 students to kickstart the programme. Binga District Development Coordinator, Mr Kabome Land Siansole, said they were satisfied with progress being made. “Yes, they came on Tuesday and they are doing renovations and they have even extended the period for enrolment so that more people can apply,” he said.
A Binga villager, Mr Gift Mudenda, said when President Mnangagwa announced the opening of a Polytechnic in Binga, he did not expect it to be that early.
“We are happy with the developments in our district, especially the Binga Polytechnic. I did not expect that such a development would occur so soon,” he said. He said children were travelling to places like Bulawayo just to access tertiary education but now it is at their doorstep. -@nqotshili
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