Online Reporter
Raymond Jaravaza, Sunday News Reporter
WHEN 22-year-old Ms Laura Ruvarashe Mukwauri, living with disability, walked onto the stage at the Bulawayo Polytechnic graduation ceremony, thousands of people at the event stood on their feet and erupted into song and ululation.
The world seemed to stop for a few minutes as Ms Mukwauri stood on the podium to receive Principal Awards as the other 3 600 plus graduates cheered her on.
She rightfully deserved the standing ovation after acing her Diploma in Information Technology course with six distinctions to join a group of graduates that were awarded for excelling in their studies at the 96th Bulawayo Polytechnic graduation ceremony held at the institution’s campus last Wednesday.
Ms Mukwauri said she chose to study Information Technology as it allows her to work from home and one day dreams of starting her own company.
“As a result of my physical disability, which makes walking difficult, I decided to study Information Technology because I can work from home more often and do not have to be in the office as other jobs demand.
“I want to start my own company which will offer software and network services and I can run it from home,” said Ms Mukwauri.
For the first year of her studies, her father used to take her to Bulawayo Polytechnic from home and later settled to stay on campus so that she could dedicate more time to college work.
“My classmates were very helpful throughout my time at Bulawayo Poly and used to help me move around from one point to the other.
“I’m happy that all the hard work finally paid off and I would like to thank my classmates and lecturers for everything that they did for me,” she said.
Ms Mukwauri joined another exceptional graduate, 69-year-old Mrs Siphiwe Ndebele of Tjehanga area of Bulilima District, Matabeleland South Province, who graduated in Garment Construction.
Mrs Ndebele has, for years, been using her old sewing machine to make home curtains and school uniforms for community members to earn a living, but always yearned to go back to school despite her old age.
“Everything that I learnt about garment construction for all these years is self-taught and while I have managed to make a living from making anything from home curtains, school uniforms and church uniforms for local community members in Tjehanga in Plumtree, I have always wanted to go to school and sit in a class where we are taught the professional way of sewing garments,” said Mrs Ndebele.
In total, 3 690 students graduated from the Bulawayo Polytechnic, recording a pass rate of 78 percent.
2 756 graduates were drawn from the Higher Education Examinations Council (HEXCO) comprising 1 341 females and 1 450 males.
In the Integrated Skills Expansion Outreach Programme (ISEOP), 498 students were capped (145 males and 353 females).
Guest of honour at the graduation ceremony, Deputy Minister for Higher and Tertiary, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, Simelisizwe Sibanda called on graduates to be job creators by using the skills and expertise that they learnt during their studies at Bulawayo Polytechnic instead of seeking employment.
“Innovation must lead to industrialisation, production and national self-reliance and that is why Government calls upon graduates not to queue for jobs but to create them. The era of entitlement is over. The era of innovation has begun,” said Deputy Minister Sibanda.
“The Government has prioritised the reconfiguration of our education system from being overly theoretical in orientation to being practically relevant, innovation-driven and economically empowering. The country has moved beyond education for certification to education for production because that is where the future of Zimbabwe lies.”
He said the days of relying on foreign-imported ideas, technologies and manpower are long gone as the country will be built by its own people.
