Top politicians among 1 679 capped at ZOU

The graduates are from 31 different degrees and diplomas offered by the institution with 48 percent of the graduands being women.
Those who graduated with PHDs were Mines and Mining Development Minister Obert Mpofu (Policy Studies), Zanu-PF Chief Whip Cde Joram Gumbo (Policy Studies) and Police Senior Assistant Commissioner Charles Makono (Philosophy in Management).

Ms Ntombiyendaba Muchuchuti obtained a Master of Philosophy degree.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, ZOU Vice Chancellor Dr Primrose Kurasha said the institution believed in quality education for all without any bottlenecks.
She said ZOU had become a renowned institution in the country and the region.
“As testimony to the quality of our programmes, Sir (President Mugabe), the lecturers of all the local and many of the regional universities, use the ZOU learning materials or modules as instructional

materials,” Dr Kurasha said.
“Through our special Directorate for Higher Degrees, we currently have learners in and outside Zimbabwe who have enrolled on these programmes.”
Dr Kurasha said ZOU engaged supervisors with the requisite qualifications from anywhere in the world adding that the distance learning institution will never run out of supervisors and examiners.

She said ZOU now offers training to new farmers through the Centre for Professional Development.
So far, Dr Kurasha said 1 000 farmers have been trained in Mashonaland East province but the institution targets all the 60 000 smallscale tobacco farmers by 2013.
She said the intention was to apply the same model to all other crops and farming ventures.

Dr Kurasha said ZOU will introduce a School of Health Sciences and a Faculty of Information Technology and Multimedia Communication adding that the programmes were now with the regulatory authority.
She said the illegal economic sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe and the HIV/Aids pandemic had seen potentially brilliant young people failing to access higher education.

Dr Kurasha said to cater for these, ZOU had introduced the school leavers open distance learning programme.
She  paid tribute to Government for the support to retain qualified personnel.
Because of the support, she said the institution had reduced its staff turnover going to levels of less than one percent from a high of 64 percent in 2008.

Minister Mpofu said the ceremony was an eventful occasion in his life.
“I cherish this very much because I had desired this for a long time.
“This adds fertility in my intellectual capacity and as a leader I have benefited a lot from what I have learnt and this is going to help me in executing my leadership roles,” he said.

Speaking to Chronicle from Harare soon after the graduation ceremony, Minister Mpofu could not hide his excitement about the achievement.
He said his political career and business commitments could not deter him from studying. “I read a lot. You will never find me in most of the places where men go. During my spare time I will be reading.
“I use my work experience as a field of learning and there is a lot that one can do,” said Minister Mpofu adding that he had no time to waste.

He said he was committed to defying the odds in becoming successful in all aspects of life and in contributing towards the development of Zimbabwe.
“I excel in everything I do. However, this achievement is not about career ambitions because I have already achieved that as a Member of Parliament and a Cabinet Minister.
“One day I will retire from politics but I would like to continue contributing immensely to the development of my country,” said Minister Mpofu.

“Education is a tangible empowerment which one can own. Right now new learning institutions are coming up such as Lupane State University and Gwanda State University. These institutions require learned people to supervise and assist them.”

Minister Mpofu, however, said the path to academic success required one to be disciplined. “All this requires discipline, discipline in terms of consistency and commitment to reading. Once you have chosen that path you need to do your work thoroughly and not to quit,” he said.
Minister Mpofu said Zimbabweans were enjoying peace and tranquility after independence from colonial rule and urged them to use the opportunity to develop themselves by taking education seriously.

He said he owes his inspiration to President Mugabe who has also acquitted himself well in the academic field.
Minister Mpofu is a holder of a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from Delhi University in India.
He did his Masters Degree in Policy Studies with the South Africa’s University of Fort Hare in collaboration with University of Zimbabwe.

He said his doctorate thesis was based on the case study of the Tripartite Negotiating Forum.
He said a lot of negotiations have been made between countries but was quick to say the contribution of Africans to global negotiating tables was minimal because of the skewed approaches to discussions by the Western countries.