Muchaneta Chimuka
NYATSIME College, Chitungwiza, is making strides in giving learners a high standard of education and skills moulding in line with the Government’s mandate towards Education 5.0 in Zimbabwe, a heritage-based higher education model that shifts schools away from traditional theory towards practical economic output.
Nyatsime College is anchored on five pillars of the Heritage – based education which are as follows:
• Teaching: Delivering foundational knowledge and core academic instruction.
• Research: Conducting studies focused on solving local and national problems.
• Community Service: Connecting academic work directly with surrounding communities.
• Innovation: Fostering practical inventions, student start-ups, and technology development through campus hubs.
• Industrialisation: Commercialising research to build local goods, reduce imports, and drive economic growth and implementation.
Speaking during the Speech and Giving Day Commemoration and official opening of the reconstructed boys dormitory in Chitungwiza, Mr Lesly Marange, the guest of honour and Chief Executive Officer of Glytime Foods (Pvt) Ltd said Vision 2030 aims to transform Zimbabwe into an upper middle-income economy by replacing raw resource exports with finished, locally produced goods.
“I grew up at Khami Prison and my parents used to encourage me to cook after recognising my passion. I followed my dreams until my business grew.
“I advanced my education but aligning towards my skills of cooking. Now I am a CEO of an organisation that does food processing. Everyone wants food hence it’s a lucrative business,” he said.
He urged learners to follow their dreams and not to lose hope saying the sky is the limit.
The school celebrated several trophies that it won during the year in various disciplines – the Africa Hall of Fame Master of Masters awards in 2025 – 26.
Nyatsime College Principal, Dr Shephard Masaraure, saluted the school for these achievements.
“We are proud because of our super achievements in the academia despite all odds.
“Last year we had a fire accident and our boys hostel block was gutted by fire and we thought that was going to affect our learners since it happened few days before their exams but they did us proud.
“We witnessed a 99 – 100 percent pass rate for both O’ and A’ level for the year 2025 respectively and we will keep on shinning,” he said.
He said the school is also into garment making and horticulture market gardening through the support from the Government and other stakeholders.
The Fruits Of Education 5:0
The garment factory at Nyatsime College is providing employment, uniforms and clothing to several business units in the country.
“As a college, we have become self-sufficient. We have employees and students who are getting skills from these projects.
“The garment factory uses solar energy (green energy) hence we do not have electricity expenses and we thank the Government for supporting our horticulture garden with drip irrigation facilities and we are producing food for the college and communities at large,” he said.
Board of Trustees Chairman, Mr Jemius Tsikai Muguwe, saluted all the sponsors who chipped in for the refurbishment of the boys’ dormitory which was gutted by fire last year, thereby bring hope to learners and staff.
“In the 2025 public examinations, Nyatsime recorded a 99 percent pass rate at Ordinary Level, the highest in its history, and a 100 percent pass rate at Advanced Level, a figure it has now held for three consecutive years.
“We thank the Government and stakeholders who are standing with us in difficult times and we continue to shine,” he said.
Dr Masaraure presented a ten-year record showing their remarkable strides.
O-Level passes have risen every year since a low of 73 percent in 2021, reaching 82 percent in 2022, 88 percent in 2023, nearly 96 percent in 2024 and 99 percent last year.
