Chronicle Editor
Michael Magoronga, Midlands Correspondent
THE Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technological Development, Professor Amon Murwira, has implored tertiary institutions to fully embrace the Heritage-Based Education 5.0 as it brings with it solutions to the country’s problems as well as facilitate the attainment of the envisioned upper-middle-income economy by 2030.
The Second Republic introduced Heritage-Based Education 5.0 whose thrust is to produce goods and services to advance the country’s developmental agenda shifting from a colonial Education 3.0 whose thrust was only to produce graduates with a worker mentality.
Speaking during the Kwekwe Polytechnic 39th graduation and prize-giving ceremony, Prof Murwira said the education system was introduced to provide solutions and help attain Vision 2030.
“When President Mnangagwa introduced the Education 5.0 philosophy, he had Vision 2030 in mind where he said students should play a key role in the development of their own country through innovation, research and entrepreneurship. Let’s prioritise research, innovation, industrialisation and entrepreneurship and utilise these competencies to enhance industrialisation development and, therefore industrialisation of our country,” he said.
He said gone were the days when the country used to be over-dependent on other countries for development, instead, universities and colleges were supposed to churn out graduates with the ability to develop the country by providing culturally relevant solutions to the communities’ problems.
“We should do away with being over-dependent on other countries and competing with them. We are not competing with any country; rather we should focus on pursuing our vision, not competing with anyone. We are at a time when we should examine our education system to see if it provides solutions to the challenges that we are facing. Are we able to be water self-sufficient, food self-sufficient, build our roads and construct our bridges without seeking help? If so, then we are going somewhere,” he said.
Prof Murwira said Zimbabwe can only develop through a supportive education system that ensures that there are answers to every problem faced by the country.
Held under the theme “Enhancing Sustainable Development through Heritage Based Innovations,” the graduation saw the conferment of certificates to more than 1 000 graduates who completed various programmes.
Of the graduates, a majority (84 percent) graduated with Stem courses including B-Tech, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, Information Technology, Automotive Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Civil and Construction Engineering.
Of the total graduate population, 52 percent were males while 48 percent were females.
Principal, Mr Evans Musara said the college was already reaping the rewards of Education 5.0. “As we are now in the second phase of walking through the doctrine of Education 5.0, the philosophy has gained momentum and is bearing fruits. Kwekwe Polytechnic’s insatiable appetite to innovate has escalated as a number of high-impact flagship projects are at various stages of implementation. The list of some recent innovations includes but is not limited to; the pfumvudza hole digging machine, the artisanal mining hoist, the electronic chicken brooder with the ability to check five parameters, an electronic cattle spray-run and the Hybrid grain thresher, just to mention but a few.
“We have taken heed of your call to ensure that such innovations are scaled-up and commercialised to ensure that industrialization thrives. We are doing this by entering into partnerships with various private and public entities with whom we have mutual interest, and again such partnerships are at various stages of implementation,” said Mr Musara.
He said in a bid to embrace new technologies and be up-to-date with International Best Practices and modern trends, Kwekwe Polytechnic had forged alliances with friendly nations with an ultimate view of undertaking exchange programmes that are aimed at re-skilling and up-skilling both members of staff and students.
“Efforts are underway for some of our staff and students to receive training in Iran and Belarus following the signing of a MOU between Kwekwe Polytechnic and institutions from these friendly nations. In partnership with JICA, plans are at an advanced stage to have specialists in various fields seconded to Kwekwe Polytechnic. In the short to medium term, this should enhance the quality of our graduates and improve their employability and relevance in the industry,” he said.
Midlands Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Owen Ncube said the theme resonates with the New Dispensation’s national development agenda to attain an upper-middle-income society by 2030, as envisioned by President Mnangagwa, underpinned by the country’s abundant human and natural resources.
“The Second Republic’s development trajectory is both resource-based and knowledge-driven, which clearly defines parameters for our new heritage-based education system that anchors our collective desire to modernize and industrialize our economy in pursuit of a prosperous and empowered upper-middle-income economy by 2030,” he said.
Minister Ncube praised the institution for considering the underprivileged members of the community saying the Government will avail land for all tertiary institutions for various projects.
“My office has made a firm commitment to ensure all tertiary institutions in the Midlands Province receive land for their projects and allocations to this effect are at an advanced stage. I urge all polytechnics and Vocational Training Centres to leverage key economic sectors that drive our provincial GDP growth, especially the mining, agriculture, construction and tourism industries, as we seek to improve the livelihoods of our people. Marginalized communities and persons with disabilities have been trained in various skills, including carpentry, food preparation, electrical installations, motor mechanics, computers, dressmaking, and hairdressing in their localities and I am glad,” he said.
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