Chronicle Editor
Leonard Ncube, [email protected]
HIGHER and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Amon Murwira has implored librarians to reconfigure their work and fit into the country’s development agenda particularly Heritage Based Education 5.0.
Addressing librarians and different stakeholders from across the country who are attending the Zimbabwe University Libraries Consortium (ZULC) 2024 Biennial Conference in Victoria Falls, Prof Murwira said under the Second Republic, Zimbabwe has transformed the education system from a colonial education system of rote learning for employment seeking to a developmental education system that responds to the developmental needs of the nation.
He said the status of an upper middle-income economy can only be achieved when necessary national capabilities are developed through the education system.
“For this system to be sustained, we have to understand and highlight the importance of the library and the librarian because a library is a core part of an education system as it is a repository of coded knowledge. Libraries are critical repositories of knowledge that have to always innovate their products in order to meet this national expectation.
“Our libraries and librarians are the core assets of the education system as they stand as repositories and custodians of information respectively.
“The information that is in our libraries has to fulfil our national development agenda and human needs. We have to have relevant information that drives the development philosophy. Libraries therefore, must reconfigure their business so as to satisfy these societal and national expectations,” said Prof Murwira.
He said the Second Republic places education as the core processing unit of our heritage and production of goods and services that meet human needs in its national development.
Prof Murwira said the country is building on the philosophy of heritage-based Education 5.0.
He said the 4th industrial revolution underscores the value of a knowledge-based economy.
“We regard libraries as critical enablers of heritage-based Education 5.0. Thus library and information services provision have a critical role to play in enhancing this direction. Libraries should have information that contributes to heritage-based Education 5.0 to drive the 4th industrial revolution,” he said.
Prof Murwira said Government has established innovation hubs and industrial parks at tertiary institutions.
Libraries and librarians should therefore, be fuelling and enhancing vibrancy of our technological revolution through the provision of cutting edge literature service.
The conference which ended yesterday, was held under the theme: “Positioning libraries in the fourth industrial revolution.”
Earlier, ZULC president Dr Rosemary Maturure, a librarian at the Africa University implored librarians to learn from global trends.
She said the library field was facing numerous challenges, which needs them to work together and embrace modern practices.
ZULC is a group of private and state university libraries in Zimbabwe that have come together to form a consortium to collectively acquire relevant information and resources to support the delivery of Heritage-Based Education 5.0 at universities. Delegates are mostly librarians and academics from tertiary institutions across the country.
-@ncubeleon
Online Reporter