More than 6 000 students graduated with diplomas and certificates in various disciplines at a colourful ceremony at the Harare Polytechnic College this Thursday.
Brian Mandemwa and Spiwe Matsinha are among 6 793 students who graduated at the Harare Polytechnic College this Thursday and are prepared to develop industrial and commercial enterprises that satisfy the needs of the country in line with tertiary education’s national strategic intent.
“I am very excited with the prize. I acquired a lot of skills in Civil Engineering and I believe I am able to create things that can be useful in our society,” said Brian.
Spiwe said, “I am so excited it was a long journey. I want to improve the tourism sector by creating products that match world standards.”
The heritage-based Education 5.0 model is instrumental in producing enterprising graduates, with the Harare Polytechnic Principal, Engineer Tafadzwa Mudondo convinced the graduates were equipped with requisite skills to respond to the country’s economic challenges through sustainable home-grown solutions.
“I can proclaim and vouch with academic authority, astuteness and certainty that these graduands experienced proper educational sanitisation. They were properly inoculated and adequately grilled against educational fragmentation and backtracking. They are ready for the field of work and create employment.”
Government is in the process of configuring higher and tertiary education to be responsive to the needs of the country.
“Our work as government is to develop the capability that leads to the realisation if the national strategic intent. This capability is produced by a well configured higher and tertiary education that is responsive to the needs of the people of Zimbabwe. Our people want food, water, shelter, sleep, connection and innovation. Education must therefore provide these needs that are primarily linked to the improvement of the quality of life in a nation,” said the Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, Honourable Raymore Machingura.
Meanwhile, the heritage-based curriculum is yielding fruits with students at Harare Polytechnic College having come up with a water supply system that fixed water challenges at the campus.
The students who graduated this Thursday include several intakes from 2019 to 2022 after the college failed to hold graduation ceremonies at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
