‘Education must lead to industrialisation’

Paul Pindani in CHINHOYI

HIGHER and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Minister, Professor, Amon Murwira, said education must lead to industrialisation and modernisation through fostering the ability to provide goods and services.

Officially opening the fifth Chinhoyi University of Technology’s International Conference held at the Great Hall on Monday, the Minister said all institutions, and agencies of Government, must endeavour to facilitate rapid and equitable development to promote private initiative and self-reliance.

“We need to foster the development of industrial and commercial enterprises in order to empower Zimbabwean citizens and to balance development of different areas of Zimbabwe, in particular, a proper balance in the development of rural and urban areas.

“Education 5.0 comes straight from the constitution and it’s just the way we then coin it.

“A nation develops from what people know and what they can do. 

“Your country becomes what you know and what you can do and nothing else.

“How do we contextualise our education within the constitutional dictates?

“We have a vision of becoming dignified people of an upper middle-income economy. 

“You should be focusing on things that exist around you.

“International recognition comes from the things you produce, not what you can regurgitate.”

Dr Ashwell Ndhlala, of Green Biotechnologies, Research Centre at the University of Limpopo in South Africa, presented a paper on the standardisation of African traditional medicine.

He told H-Metro this was the only way Africa can successfully build a bio economy from its bio resources.

“I think if we go around the route of standardising our medicines, we would definitely save billions compared to when we import medicines.

“We saw what happened during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“It cost billions for many governments, but we have got natural products, natural medicines, which could have been used to actually assist patients in recovering from Covid-19,” said Dr Ndhlala.

Professor Claudio Fontanesi, from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy, who presented a paper on Applied Electrochemistry, said it was imperative to create a new society.

“We need a new society going into the future and trying to develop a world with few differences in people. 

“I am in total agreement with what Minister Murwira said.”