Probe why fewer females at varsity

Acting Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education Dr Ignatius Chombo said a comperehensive study would be done to ascertain the reasons of the low enrolment and to proffer solutions on how the enrolment of more female students in universities could be achieved.

At least 69 percent of students in teacher training institutions are females.
“This can be attributed to the fact that women have a passion and are naturally good teachers,” he said.

He said the enrolment at state universities and polytechnics showed that 56 percent and 62 percent of students respectively were male.
“We want to encourage more females to enrol at polytechnics and universities,” he said.

Government was in the process of establishing more state universities in Manicaland, Mashonaland East and Matabeleland South.
Previous studies indicate that females are reluctant to take up mathematics and science subjects and that some parents educate boys ahead of girls.

Minister Chombo said the education sector was slowly getting stronger following the massive return of academics from the diaspora.
At one time the university of Zimbabwe had only 480 lecturers out of an establishment of 1 400. The university now has more than 1 000 lecturers.

He said he was happy with the quality of graduates from the state institutions of higher education.
“Our varsities are enrolling the creme-del-a-creme . . .” he said.

More institutions would be able to cater for the growing number of school leavers. Minister Chombo. He also said the Ministry had sent its begging bowls to the Finance Ministry for funding but it had reneged on funding manpower training.

The ministry’s secretary Dr Washington Mbizvo said while the national pass rate for institutions of higher and tertiary education stood at 78 percent, that of state universities and colleges was above 90 percent.

“In our own institutions the pass rate is over 90 percent. There are 426 independent colleges which are contributing to lowering of pass rates.”
Some of the private colleges were manned by inexperienced tutors.