Lovemore Chikova in Beijing, China

President Mugabe, being an educationist himself, started the Presidential Scholarship Scheme to assist the poor, disadvantaged and orphans who are intellectually talented to access tertiary education.

Viola Mashiri (23) from Hurungwe in Mashonaland Central Province never dreamt that she would one day further her education into tertiary.

Being an orphan, her guardian could not afford to send her to university or any other college for that matter.

She had been left to fend for herself at an early age, taking up menial jobs just t o get by.

Then boom! She got a scholarship to study at Ocean University of China under the Presidential Scholarship Scheme.

Her story is as touching as that of the other 49 less privileged students who were welcomed at Ocean University of China in the coastal city of Qingdao on Friday last week.

All the 50 students are from poor backgrounds and all of them never entertained the thought of going to university, let alone study in China.

“I am so excited to be here,” she said in an interview. “I am really short of words to the Government for granting me this opportunity.

“I had failed to proceed to tertiary education after finishing school in 2012 partly because my parents died when I was young and my guardian could not afford to take me to tertiary level. It’s a new beginning and a new life for me.”

From a hopeless situation in rural Hurungwe, Viola is already thinking big.

“I am studying Chinese language, but what I now know and I am convinced of since I came here a few days ago is that one day I will be the ambassador of Zimbabwe to China. After attaining my degree, I see myself working in Government as an interpreter.”

Thanks to the Presidential Scholarship Scheme, many underprivileged youths are getting back their smile after being afforded a chance to proceed with their education.

Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Christopher Mushohwe is the Executive Director of the Presidential Scholarship Department in the Office of the President and Cabinet.

Were it not for Dr Mushohwe’s astuteness in running the programme, perhaps Viola and her peers could not have been at Ocean University of China.

After Zimbabwe was hit by sanctions by Western countries which opposed land reform, many projects were left on the verge of collapse.

This includes the Presidential Scholarship Scheme, which has so far churned out more than 20 000 graduates, mainly from South African universities.

What this meant was that new frontiers needed to be opened to ensure that the noble scheme continued.

Dr Mushohwe, because of his desire to make sure President Mugabe’s vision on the scholarship did not collapse and because of his own feelings towards the underprivileged, had to device means to keep it afloat.

It required that Dr Mushohwe and his team think outside the box.

This is how Qingdao Hengshun Zhongshen Group came into the limelight and offered financial support for this group of 50 to study at Ocean University of China.

Thanks to Dr Mushohwe’s passion for the scholarship, the next intake to be supported by the Chinese firm under the scholarship scheme will increase to 100 and this will be so for the next three years.

What is important about this cooperation is that it symbolises the growth in relations between China and Zimbabwe.

It is important that the political, social and economic cooperation between the two countries is now being extended to education.

This makes this first group of students in China on the Presidential Scholarship Scheme unique.

It is clear that the presence of this group in China is a result of the hard work put in by Dr Mushohwe and his team at the Presidential Scholarship Department, which includes programme coordinator Mrs Silence Mubariki.

Timely interventions was required to save the scheme from collapse and now the route has been cleared for more Chinese firms to support the scholarship scheme.

Dr Mushohwe indicated that after graduating, the degree holders would be deployed at various projects being undertaken by the Chinese in Zimbabwe.

In a way, the scholarship is capacitating locals, who bring in the required knowledge acquired in various fields, especially the technical know-how.

President Mugabe, being an educationist himself, started the Presidential Scholarship Scheme to assist the poor, disadvantaged and orphans who are intellectually talented to access tertiary education.

At the welcome ceremony for the 50 students at Ocean University of China, Dr Mushohwe explained the President’s vision for the programme.

The programme benefits more students from the rural parts of Zimbabwe, he said.

The principles applied in the selection ensure that suitable students benefit from the scheme and that only those who cannot afford further education make up the list.

In awarding the scholarships, Dr Mushohwe said President Mugabe insists on equitable distribution between boys and girls and fair distribution among the eight rural provinces, with Harare and Bulawayo cities receiving less sponsorship.

The selection criteria puts emphasis on targeting the very poor beneficiaries and insists on programmes of study which are of greater need to Zimbabwe such as engineering, health sciences, dentistry, accounting, architectural science, actuarial science and agricultural sciences.

All these have made the Presidential Scholarship Scheme a great success and able to produce graduates relevant to Zimbabwe’s needs.

What is now needed is for Dr Mushohwe and his team to continue the good work and make sure that the graduates return to the country to work in various fields.

That way, science and innovation can easily be applied to the developmental needs of Zimbabwe through the skills acquired by these graduates.

The involvement of Qingdao Hengshen Zhingsheng Group in the scholarship should be a good example to other Chinese firms operating in Zimbabwe.

Qingdao Hengshen Zhongsheng Group should be commended for taking the one step forward by supporting the scholarship scheme.

The firm has its headquarters in Qingdao, Shadong Province, China and is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange with over 20 subsidiaries in China, Indonesia, Singapore, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

President Mugabe so desired to have people get educated that after independence he set aside three of his offices to assist newly appointed army commanders and Government ministers who had left school to join the liberation struggle.

And this is how the Presidential Scholarship Scheme started -from the President’s desire for everyone to access education.

It came into effect in 1995 with 15 students who were sent to Fort Hare University in South Africa, where President Mugabe obtained his first degree in 1951.

The coming in of China to support the scholarship scheme clearly shows how Dr Mushohwe and his crew have managed to perfect the President’s vision.

There is no doubt at the hard work that Dr Mushohwe has been putting in on this programme, which has changed the course of life for many underprivileged students.

That President Mugabe held a farewell function for the 50 students before they left for China shows how important the scholarship programme is to the country.

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