Online Reporter
Walter Nyamukondiwa
Mashonaland West Bureau Chief
GOVERNMENT is considering making Information Communication Technology (ICT) compulsory for every learner while pursuing policies that promote the inclusion of girls and young women in the field as an empowerment and economic development tool, a Cabinet Minister has said.
To that end, engagements are underway between the ministries of ICT, Postal and Courier Services and Primary and Secondary Education to develop and assimilate the policy into the education system.
Addressing the belated International Girls in ICTs Day in Chinhoyi yesterday, ICT, Postal and Courier Services Minister Tatenda Mavetera said the policy would promote digital inclusion and set Zimbabwe on an ICT-inspired development path.
“We are engaging with the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education and we have had conversation to say ICTs or learning ICT should be compulsory and not a practical subject where a child has the option to choose ICT and say, brickwork,” she said.
“We are saying we want ICTs to be compulsory for every learner. A digitally inclusive society benefits everyone — improving healthcare outcomes, enhancing educational opportunities and stimulating economic development.”
She said the ICT sector had produced the highest number of billionaires in the world and the next innovators should come from Zimbabwe.
Government, she said, was pursuing several initiatives to promote the inclusion of girls in the ICT field.
“When we invest in girls, we invest in communities, economies and ultimately, our nation. Encouraging girls in ICT is not just about empowering individuals; it is about building a stronger, more prosperous future for all of us,” said Minister Mavetera.
“In a world increasingly driven by technology, the participation of women in ICT is vital for fostering innovation, driving economic growth and ensuring that our digital future is equitable and inclusive.”
This year’s celebrations were running under the theme ‘Girls in ICT: Bridging All Divides for an Inclusive Digital Transformation’.
She said the celebrations should ignite a passion among girls and young women to pursue ICT and STEM subjects.
The Minister hailed First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa, the patron of the She Tech Initiative, for promoting Girls in ICTs, quoting part of her speech where she noted that while ICTs were a lucrative field they also had the potential to transform the country.
Owing to her visionary patronage, she said, Government launched the Tertiary Education Scholarship Fund to send various girls to universities.
Minister Mavetera hailed President Mnangagwa for launching the Digital Skills Ambassadors Program, an ambitious programme targeting to train a minimum of 1,5 million coders this year.
She said girls should avoid being only digital consumers but become creators.
Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (Potraz) Director-General Dr Gift Muchengete called for safe use of digital technology.
In a speech read on her behalf by director in her office Mr Sunny Seremani, Mashonaland West Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Marian Chombo said Government continues to demonstrate its desire to offer opportunities to every child.
