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Fungi Kwaramba in Mt DARWIN

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has assured children of his Government’s support to enable them to reach their full potential through enabling policies and programmes that will cater for all especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

This support is vital, he said, as it enables Zimbabweans to develop their own country just as developed nations were developed by their own people and not foreigners.

That spirit is aptly captured in this year’s Independence Celebrations theme, “Nyika Inovakwa nevene vayo vayo; Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo”, which places the responsibility to develop Zimbabwe towards Vision 2030 to become an upper middle class economy on locals and not foreigners.

Children have been taken on board and have embraced that philosophy, with the Second Republic formulating pragmatic policies in education.

Through the heritage-based education model, young people are now honing their skills from an early age, pursuing programmes that are based on their competencies and biased towards sciences, agriculture and technology.

Yesterday, President Mnangagwa, who has decentralised national events, hosted children at a party in Mt Darwin and urged the young, drawn from the country’s 10 provinces, to focus on their studies and resist peer pressure.

The President, who was accompanied by First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, Zanu PF Vice President Kembo Mohadi, Defence and War Veterans Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Dr Evelyn Ndlovu and the Zanu PF leadership from Mashonaland Central Province, said this year’s Independence theme is a reminder that both children and adults should continue working hard for the development of their beloved motherland, Zimbabwe, because it is an inheritance that came after bloodshed.

“My Government will ensure policies and programmes that help the lives of children. This includes access to quality education for our children from different backgrounds and parts of the country.

“As we continue to modernise and industrialise our country, under Vision 2030, my Government will make resources available for disadvantaged children in primary and secondary schools, including those with disabilities. This will lead to the full enjoyment of our independence by you, the young people, so that you realise your full potential and have good careers,” President Mnangagwa said.

Learners from the country’s 10 provinces attend the 43rd Independence Celebration’s Children’s Party at Pfura Stadium in Mt Darwin yesterday. — Picture: Believe Nyakudjara.

Disadvantaged children, the President said, will also continue receiving scholarships to help further their education.

“The National Presidential Scholarship Programme is supporting talented and underprivileged children so that they can also go to university. I also thank all our friendly countries for supporting us by offering various scholarships to our young people.

“At the national level, I commend members of the private sector who are offering similar scholarship facilities to our young talented boys and girls through their corporate social responsibility programmes.”

As a listening leader, the President also directed Government officials to take on board concerns of both children and their parents in policy making.

“My dear boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, the importance of participating and involving our children in issues that affect them is very important. I call upon the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education and education sector stakeholders to have an interest in all the concerns of our children as well as those of their parents and communities.

“As a Government, we are changing and improving our education system for the better and preparing our young people for the future. The on-going review will make sure that our learners have skills and knowledge that will help speed up the modernisation of our great country. We are also promoting, strengthening and broadening the learning of technical, vocational and entrepreneurship related studies,” he added.

Already, technical high schools are on the cards as Government moves towards skills-based education leaning towards vocational training.

“These schools must enable you, our young boys and girls, to acquire industrial skills which will help you to become inventors, innovators, employers and industrialists in the future.”

President Mnangagwa reiterated his calls against drug abuse and use of harmful substances, a scourge that Government has vowed to clampdown on and bring sanity among the young who are often lured by drug peddlers.

In the spirit of the country’s heroes and heroines like Mbuya Nehanda Nyakasikana, the President said children, as the future of the country, must always be exemplary and behave in a way that makes their families proud in the spirit of Hunhu/Ubuntu.