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Mukudzei Chingwere recently in NEW DELHI, India
THE science and technology skills gap will be slashed after getting Government priority for scholarships being offered by
Government instituted a skills audit in 2018 to foster human skills development that answers to the needs of the economy and national development, which identified shortages in science and technology skills. Several initiatives have since been instituted, championed by President Mnangagwa.
The Zimbabwe delegation to the just-ended Africa Conclave on India-Africa Partnership, led by Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga, managed to secure tertiary education scholarships and Government has advised that their allocation will be guided by the need to cover the skills gap.
Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Permanent Secretary Professor Fanuel Tagwira confirmed the priority areas after a meeting with the Indian secretary for higher education.
“We had some fruitful discussions where we agreed to cooperate in the area of training,” said Prof Tagwira.
“They are willing to provide scholarships. They are also willing to provide places at some of their leading universities for the training of some of our staff at Masters and PhD level.
“The other thing is that the owners of Jindal have a private university and they have also offered to the Honourable Vice President an opportunity for young people from Zimbabwe to go to their university and also their engineering college. It is something we are going to work on immediately when we get home”.
He said Zimbabwe and India had also agreed to partner in research and development, particularly in the development of new technologies like the manufacture of lithium batteries.
The parties also agreed to partner in the area of space technologies, and they are now working on the memorandum of understanding.
“India is one of the key countries we want to partner with. If you want graduates who have knowledge, who have skill and who are entrepreneurial, India is the place,” said Prof Tagwira.
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“That is why we want to link up with institutions like the India Institute of Technology. We want to link our polytechnics with polytechnics in India so that we can produce graduates with practical knowledge. So, when we talk about Education 5.0, India is the one with an education which is very close to what we are doing at home”.
Prof Tagwira also talked up Mauritius’ offer for scholarships, which was extended after VP Chiwenga met his Mauritius counterpart VP Eddy Boissezon.
According to a recent World Education Forum report, Mauritius ranks third out of the 38 African countries surveyed for its education systems based on skill development.
Online Reporter