Zimpapers Logo

Remember Deketeke-Herald Correspondent

Rural industrialisation will be rolled across the nation through imparting practical skills to the general population, Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Amon Murwira said yesterday at the Harare Polytechnic 105th graduation and prize giving ceremony.

A total of 3 460 students graduated with diplomas and certificates in many disciplines at a colourful ceremony at the Harare Polytechnic College yesterday. The ceremony ran under the theme: “Transforming learning, research and intellectual excellence for accelerated innovation and industrialisation through Education 5.0.”

Speaking at the ceremony, Prof Murwira said the Second Republic was implementing the integrated skills expansion outreach programme to upgrade skills in the general population and had created an enabling environment for graduates of Higher and Tertiary Education Institutions (HTELs) to establish companies.

“Through the Zimbabwe Graduate Employment Creation and Development Programme, our graduates are being assisted by the Government to establish companies of their own,” he said.

“We are convinced our graduates from polytechnics are skilled enough to establish vibrant industries producing quality affordable goods and services.”

Polytechnics were well placed to produce work-ready artisans, technicians, technologists and engineers that had skills to transform the industrial landscape of Zimbabwe. He urged graduates to go into the world and apply the knowledge and skills to excel in selected fields.

“Prioritise innovation, research and entrepreneurship and use these competencies to enhance industrial development,” he said. 

Harare Polytechnic principal Dr Tafadzwa Mudondo said graduation day was footprinted and fingerprinted in the calendar of Harare Polytechnic.

“It is a day of celebration, a day of reckoning and a day to acknowledge the hard work, commitment and achievements of graduates,” he said.

National Diploma in Pharmaceutical Technology student Takudzwa Nyamukondiwa said Harare Polytechnic has given students skills that go beyond a certificate.

“Our skills of the future are now going beyond an ordinary certificate, critical thinking, leadership and problem-solving skills. Thus, the need for other institutions to invest more in Higher and Tertiary Education,” he said. 

“There is a need for institutions to start implementing Education 5.0 in full force which will enable other students to make things more practical, producing a graduate relevant to the market place.”

Jordine Masvaure, Takudzwa Nyamukondiwa and Marvellous Masunda said they were prepared to develop industrial and commercial enterprises that satisfy the needs of the country in line with the Heritage-based Education 5.0.

In an interview after being awarded a certificate, Masvaure said she was elated to have graduated, adding that she would continue contributing to the country’s development discourse.

“I think it is a programme that is relevant to the work that I am going to be doing, especially considering that development is becoming a major topic in both the developing and developed world. I hope to contribute some new knowledge and new thinking in the area of development through skills acquired during my time here at Harare Polytechnic,” he said. 

Meanwhile, the Heritage-based curriculum is bearing fruits with students at the college having come up with a water supply system that fixed water challenges at the campus.