Online Reporter
Ivan Zhakata
Herald Correspondent
SEKE Teachers College’s newly qualified teachers have been challenged to champion innovation, embrace emerging technologies and promote heritage-based education to accelerate Zimbabwe’s industrialisation and economic transformation.
Speaking at the college’s 39th graduation ceremony at the campus on Tuesday, Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Minister Ambassador Dr Frederick Shava, said teachers occupy a strategic position in shaping a skilled workforce capable of driving the country’s development agenda under the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2).
A total of 632 students – 360 from the General Course and 272 from the Early Childhood Development (ECD) programme – successfully completed their studies, with both classes achieving a 100 percent pass rate.
Dr Shava said the graduation theme, “Accelerating innovation and industrial skills development through Heritage-Based Education”, showed the need for an education system that equips learners with practical skills to solve national challenges.
“It is a future that demands more than academic knowledge. It demands practical skills, creative thinking, adaptability and a strong sense of identity. “It is a future where education must be translated into solutions that respond to real community challenges,” he said.
Dr Shava added that the Heritage-Based Education 5.0 philosophy seeks to integrate indigenous knowledge systems with science, technology and innovation, adding that sustainable development could only be achieved by combining traditional knowledge with modern technologies.
“When we combine this indigenous knowledge with modern science, technology and innovation, we unlock solutions that are both relevant and sustainable for our context,” said Dr Shava.
Government remains committed to ensuring inclusive access to higher and tertiary education, added Dr Shava, revealing that the Ministry was at an advanced stage of procuring assistive devices for tertiary institutions to support students with disabilities.
“This is a deliberate step to ensure that no student, regardless of disability, is left behind in our drive towards an inclusive Education 5.0,” he said.
He also said Government will release funding to strengthen the Work for Fees programme to support academically gifted but financially disadvantaged students.
Dr Shava hailed Seke Teachers College for promoting practical skills development through innovation, research, sports training and entrepreneurship and said such initiatives complemented Government’s drive to produce graduates with industry-relevant competencies.
He also applauded the institution’s partnerships with POTRAZ and the Great Zimbabwe Initiative to commercialise innovations, as well as its success at the Presidential Innovation Fair.
On the growing role of technology in education, Dr Shava encouraged graduates to embrace Artificial Intelligence while ensuring technological advancement remains grounded in the values of Ubuntu.
“AI in particular offers real opportunities through personalised learning, better access to information, stronger research capabilities and more efficient administration, but this progress must stay anchored in Ubuntu/Unhu/Vumunhu, ensuring technology serves humanity, promotes social justice and advances inclusive, equitable development,” he said.
He reminded the graduates that teaching extended beyond classroom instruction, describing educators as custodians of Zimbabwe’s cultural heritage.
“You are more than educators; you are custodians of culture, language, and tradition,” Minister Shava said urging them to commit themselves to lifelong learning and build inclusive classrooms for every learner.
He also challenged the graduates to become agents of national transformation through quality education, innovation and community service.
“Go out and build. Go out and inspire. Go out and transform. Keep rising. Keep pushing. Keep pacing for greater heights,” he said.
