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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter
GOVERNMENT has said lecturers have no reason to complain about low salaries as they do not have an income limitation.
Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Amon Murwira said while Government is striving to improve their salaries, lecturers should embark on research and innovation projects to generate income for themselves.
He was speaking at the launch of Core Global Capsule (CGC) Zimbabwe, the first of its kind on the continent, at the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) in Bulawayo on Friday.
CGC is a global non-profit making organisation that helps to develop research activities at international level to address social problems.
It has a memorandum of understanding for partnership with Nust.
Prof Murwira said unlike civil servants who depend on salaries, lecturers should conduct global impacting research projects that can earn them more money.
“Salary adjustment is not a problem, we are working on that. We have already adjusted it anyway for now but we are still negotiating so that we reach regional parity. But the point that I was making is that with the concept of Education 5.0, if I give you $5 000 today, it’s just basic.
“Unlike civil servants, lecturers are given a chance to research and innovate and even get more money. So if you are a Professor at university and you are crying for a salary, and I mean if you depend specifically on your payslip, what kind of professor are you? Even if a professor gets $100 million it’s not a problem we don’t ask why they are getting $100 million,” said Prof Murwira.
The Minister said if a professor comes to him demanding a pay rise he would be fired as he would not be fit for duty.
He said the country’s universities should reconfigure their programmes shifting from a situation where instead of lecturers spending most of their time lecturing, they conduct innovation and research projects.
Prof Murwira said he does not want lecturers to be at universities from 6AM to 6PM as they are expected to teach block classes before vanishing from the universities to conduct research projects.
“If we do not take up this mentality we will be very poor as higher and tertiary institutions. Yet higher and tertiary education must drive industry. Industries start here, people who are in industry are our students, if they are not our students they came from a higher and tertiary system. If you find that your higher and tertiary system is not producing industrialists then there is a problem,” said Prof Murwira.
He said CGC objective was in line with Education 5.0 of producing goods and services. Prof Murwira said Government abandoned Education 3.0 because it had failed to address the country’s socio-economic problems while it created individuals who after completing their studies, demand jobs that are in short supply. CGS founder and president Professor Ramjee Prasad was among the guests that included academics and captains of industry.
Officials from Nust, Lupane State University, Gwanda State University, Midlands State University, Solusi University and Bulawayo City Council attended the event.—@nqotshili
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