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“We should do away with this syndrome through harnessing our energies for our development. Our universities should put more focus on the indigenisation programme. I believe our graduates who have been trained in various fields can develop our communities.”
The President said it was imperative that Zimbabwe created a local private sector for sustainable development.
Government, he said, was disappointed by the lack of interest by locals to take up opportunities in the mining sector.
President Mugabe said universities and other tertiary institutions had to move away from the colonial structures that were meant to promote aspirations and values of the colonial powers.
He said the Ian Smith regime had established a segregatory education system that prevented blacks from acquiring technical skills necessary for development, adding Government had done a lot since independence to correct this anomaly.
Zimbabwe had one state university at independence but now has 10 and three other private universities while technical and teachers colleges have also increased significantly.
President Mugabe, however, said it was also important that Government provided necessary resources for the institutions to engage in meaningful research that can develop the nation.
“Let us re-examine our universities and see whether they can be assisted. A lot has to be done, the universities cannot rely much on the private sector, they still lean on the State and unless they get that support their ability to expand is limited,” he said.
He said it was important that more expositions on research be done to increase interaction between the tertiary institutions, the private sector and Government.
President Mugabe also urged the institutions to emulate the Chinese who had improved already existing technologies to develop their economy.
“China’s system of adopting technology and applying it to their own environment and excelling it and improving on it has raised its GDP and its own economy to a very high level and this is an example to us small countries,” he said.
He said while donor funding from international institutions was welcome it was disheartening to note that it was not directed to technical fields.
“International institutions that assist us should do so in areas we need assistance. When the IMF and the World Bank want to assist African universities they assist in the areas of Law, Human Rights, Good Governance and not so much in areas that deal with technology.
“We want to see areas that deal with technology being emphasised more,” he said.
The President also called on universities to help in moulding graduates that respect their African traditions and values so that they can work in harmony with their communities.
He called on tertiary institutions to promote Zimbabwe’s cultural heritage such as music and folklore.
The Research and Intellectual Exposition (RIE) is being held at the University of Zimbabwe and is being attended by academics drawn from the country’s various tertiary institutions.
The RIE aims at promoting the creation of an enabling environment for innovation using arts, humanities and science and technology methodology in addressing the development needs of the country.
The RIE is being held for the second time since its inauguration last year and is being held under the theme, “Research, Innovation and Creativity for Sustainable Development”.
Online Reporter