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Nqobile Tshili
Bulawayo Bureau
Among the graduates at Wednesday’s 95th Bulawayo Polytechnic graduation ceremony was Ms Maria Mutare, a 58-year-old from Binga, Matabeleland North.
She stood out as a testament to the Government’s initiative to provide life skills training to all, regardless of background, allowing determination to be the key to unlocking new opportunities.
Surrounded by predominantly young graduates, Ms Mutare’s presence was triumph of the programme’s impact.
Despite never completing primary school and having only one child completing secondary school studies, she wore her graduation gown with immense pride, marking a monumental achievement in her life.
Ms Mutare enrolled in the Integrated Skills Expansion Outreach Programme (ISEOP) to equip people with life skills even without having any prior qualifications.
Without educational and academic certificates, she is now able to bake cakes, following a three-month training programme.
“This is going to assist me in my life. I didn’t even complete primary education but now I’m able to bake cakes. When I heard of this opportunity, I embraced it because I believed it would change my family’s course of life.
“I joined a baking course in June and the skills I acquired will help me in life,” said Ms Mutare.
She said she has broken a family ceiling that even her children never achieved.
“Only one of my children completed Form Four, another only got to Form Two, while another did not complete Grade Seven. So I have made a serious achievement,” she said.
Ms Lebecca Mwinde, 56, from Samende, Binga, also shared the same joy, saying it was her hope that through skills development, she would alleviate her family’s poverty.
The feeling was also the same for Mr Naido Siankonono, who received a building certificate.
“For me, I was just a builder without any qualification. But now I know the type of construction that I will be doing. I have even been taught business management, so this is key for me as I aim to make a better living through my skill, which has now been enhanced through the knowledge I obtained,” he said.
Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Amon Murwira said his ministry intends to spread ISEOP across the country in the coming five years.
“ISEOP puts emphasis on imparting practical skills that lead to the acquisition of competencies leading to the production of goods and services.
“In the next five years, our ambition is for the ISEOP programme to touch every village in every corner of the country, thus leaving no place and no one behind,” Professor Murwira said.
Bulawayo Polytechnic principal Mrs Chiedza Masanganise, whose institution is critical in the teaching of skills to communities, said all that is needed is a heart willing to learn.
“These are skills training programmes where we say this is independent of age, independent of your training levels, but you have a chance to learn a skill that you can use to earn money for yourself and even take care of your family.
“You would have noticed that there were quite some elderly people among those who were graduating. We were offering them the courses, and they seem to be interested in the courses because after that, they have skills and can work anywhere.
“All they need to bring is their willingness. We start from there. The idea is to have basic education so that they are able to read and write, and we start from there,” said Mrs Masanganise.
She said communities in Binga and Plumtree, where the programme is being rolled out, have shown great enthusiasm in partaking in the exercise.
“They feel like they didn’t have that opportunity to travel to places like Bulawayo to get trained.
“So as we are imparting those skills to them, they feel grateful to the ministry for having introduced the courses and availing the training that is going on.
“Some of them are involved in solar power installations, cake icing, cake baking, cookery, brick and block laying, plumbing.
“At the end of the day, some of the construction we are doing, we are actually using those we would have trained under our supervision,” she added.
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter