Chronicle Editor
Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
KNOWLEDGE production output from the country’s universities remains low as evidenced by the low number of doctorates, publications and patents from the institutions of higher learning, a Cabinet minister said yesterday.
The Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science Technology Development Professor Amon Murwira said there is need to strengthen universities in the areas of staff capacity and research and innovation for them to become significant contributors to knowledge and intellectual property and production of goods and services.
He was addressing academics at the international conference on sustainable economic transformation, innovation and governance in emerging economies organised by the Midlands State University (MSU).
“Currently knowledge production output of the local universities is low. The low number of doctorates, publications and patents from Zimbabwe’s Institutions of higher learning are an indicator of this state of health of our Institutions. There is need to strengthen our Universities in the areas of staff capacity and research and innovation for them to become significant contributors to knowledge and intellectual property and production of goods and services,” said Prof Murwira in a speech read on his behalf by the permanent secretary in his Ministry Prof Fanuel Tagwira.
He said traditionally, education in Zimbabwe has not resulted in any direct development of industries.
“Even when an academic has done good research that has developed a technology, there is no incentive to go beyond and cause industry to come out of that technology. Government’s thrust is to develop a new economy driven by science and technology. In many research intensive institutions today they are moving away from selling intellectual property (IP) and choosing to focus on selling start-up industries coming out of the intellectual property,” said Prof Murwira.
He said research has shown strong association between higher education participation rates and levels of development.
Prof Murwira said India succeeded by making use of its elite education institutions and exploiting ICTs for economic development.
“Our higher education institutions in Africa must in the least help our nations to absorb, modify and utilise technology developed locally or elsewhere so that we can make a more rapid transition to higher levels of development and standard of living. In Zimbabwe our President, Cde Mnangagwa has challenged universities to stop taking pride in high enrolment figures and focus on contributing answers to the country’s challenges,” he said.
Prof Murwira said the National Vision 2030 and the Transitional Stabilisation Programme emphasises the need to make higher education more relevant to the economic transformation of the country and speaks about higher education helping to stimulate industrialisation.
He said Zimbabwe must adopt an education system that imparts knowledge which is relevant to the needs of the country.
“In this regard, the innovation hubs and industrial parks that my ministry is focusing on, shall enable active knowledge transfer between researchers and business experts, on the one hand, and industry as well as Government on the other. The thrust targets industrialising the economy and subsequently creating employment and improving people’s lives,” he said.
“The industrial Parks (of which 5 will be set up this year) shall act as production centres for successfully incubated innovations from Higher and Tertiary Institutions. Prototypes from Higher and Tertiary Institutions shall go for manufacturing in the Industrial parks being established in the country’s 10 provinces.”
The Government, Prof Murwira said, has made positive pronouncements about setting aside 1percent of gross domestic product (GDP) to fund research.
derick.khumalo