Institutions of higher and tertiary education must focus on offering programmes that respond to the economy and contribute towards its revival through research, Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Amon Murwira has said.
In his candid meeting with State universities’ vice chancellors in Harare yesterday, Prof Murwira said to achieve this, the ministry would establish innovation hubs at six State universities, which will steer science and innovation. He said the innovation hubs were part of 13 projects his ministry would focus on in the next 100 days.
“The vision of the ministry is to contribute immensely and expeditiously towards the turnaround of the economy in the shortest possible time. The ministry’s new economic trajectory should be based on the research culture, which must be inculcated and nurtured in all the universities which you are in charge of,” Prof Murwira told the vice chancellors.
These 100-day projects include conducting a skills audit meant to inform policy makers on current and future skills required for the science and technology sector, advances in technologies for critical sectors such as mining, agriculture, land use, wildlife management, water and minerals.
The plan also seeks to capacitate teachers in science teaching, promote good governance in Government and parastatals, increase absorption rate of Ordinary and Advanced level students in State universities, while addressing urgent infrastructure gap to match the increasing number of students enrolled.
Prof Murwira said his ministry would develop master plans for three more State universities in Marondera, Gwanda and Manicaland and also develop a national qualification framework that facilitated progression from basic school level education to higher education. He said all these programmes should be designed to answer challenges facing the economy, in particular and the country at large.
“This programmatic approach is aimed at developing specific areas of our economy using SMART (Simple, Measurable, Achievable, Results), and time framed for quick wins. This programmatic approach will guide all our operations. It will not be business as usual,” said Prof Murwira.
Prof Murwira said his ministry would be ready to support any research and teaching programme that had national impact covering all sectors of the economy. He challenged the universities to embrace indigenous knowledge systems in their researches to solve current challenges.
Speaking during the same meeting, University of Zimbabwe Vice Chancellor Professor Levi Nyagura welcomed the 100-day plan, which is largely drawn from President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s inauguration speech. He said it fitted well into work they had already began as local universities to complement each other in higher and tertiary education. Prof Nyagura said local universities should make meaningful contribution to the country’s economy.
“We took a leaf from two universities we visited in Singapore where university students are producing spare parts for vehicles and we said, but we can also do this,” he said.
“So, this is what our taskforce, which is made up of all vice chancellors, is looking forward to achieve as we contribute to economic development.”
7 Replies to “Murwira Speaks On Economy Research”
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Obviously you understand the subject thoroughly. I do agree with you on all the points you raised. It’s unfortunate that government thinks everyone with a PhD in humanities is a good candidate for higher education ministerial positions. Motor mechanics used to celebrate their completion of their apprenticeship by being immersed in drums of used oil and grease. That was their level of training and it was revered. But because government is full of bookish academics, they thought it was primitive and introduced academic gowns. That’s besides the point, my point is universities should be able to come up with prototypes so polytheistics can then go into full production developed from the prototypes. Of course university engineers should be leading the research teams comprising tertiary education graduates. The levels you discussed are real and if our education could concentrate on such models, I have no doubt we will be going in the right direction.
My point is that universities must concentrate on teaching and industry through their research and development programmes will carry out the research. I have had occasion to appreciate the research efforts at SEDCO and Crest Breeders and I can confirm that with a performing economy research will be enhanced. Where industry requires assistance they can then get assistance from universities. If universities are going to spearhead research they will renege on their responsibility of teaching. The impact of any education can only be assessed on the products of its application.
Government had created a training fund, the Manpower Development Fund (ZIMDEF) for funding industrial training. This fund has been abused and it is a contradiction that polytech students continue to suffer while employers continue to contribute towards their upkeep. The output must be more technician and artisans and fewer engineers. Yes education in Polytechs and universities must be practical to allow the graduates to apply it but teaching institutions must not be converted to production centres.
All said and done we will only achieve a balance between teaching and research once we sort out our economy.
But in all this research requires massive funding and looking at our current funding, it just does not tally. You raise quite a good point about polys being designers and manufacturing. But the challenge seems to be other competing social issues vis-a-viz education.
To understand these things we need to understand the structure of our education system and the role each level plays. We also need to understand the structure of what we refer to as industry. Our education system comprise of higher and tertiary education which administers Polytechnics, Agric Colleges/Teachers Colleges with higher education concentrating on Universities. The work in industry start from design, manufacture and assembly. This structure fits into our education as follows, design-uni graduates, manufacturing, poly graduates and assembly vocational and basic training. I have used the engineering structure but that applies to agriculture and even teaching.
Over the years we have witnessed massive expansion of universities and very little expansion of polytechnics. This is an indication of serious problems in the economy. We need more training at the tertiary level than at the higher education level. What we are doing is like training more headmasters than teachers just to use a wild example. One headmaster will look after 25 teachers and so one engineer could look after 15 artisans.What Prof. Murwira is including in his 100 days is an indication of the ignorance that exist within our institutions of higher learning and those who provide leadership to them. Universities are supposed to provide broad knowledge in all areas of a particular field (such as electrical engineering) of study and individuals will take up specialist areas as they leave universities and develop their skills. Universities provide the foundational training and skills are developed at the work place. Currently the work place in non-existent and we seem to think that people are not adequately trained. Even if for argument’s sake we were to concentrate on research as suggested, where would we apply the findings? We need to establish the problem first and then provide appropriate solutions.
Apprenticeships, apprenticeships, apprenticeships please Minister once you get the industries working (e.g. with stable electricity supply).
not with the same VCs hon minister. you change leadership if you want change in universities. if they have not lead such innovations why do you think they will now. new tricks from the old —forget it.
Research should move away from theory based research to production based research. Gone are the days of academic research with no hands on kind of research. Zimbabwe boasts of being the most educated people but the education talked about is an education based on literacy meaning Zimbabweans can read and write and that all. With all these universities in the country one wonders why there is nothing made in Zimbabwe. I mean quality products from simple radios to computers let alone clothes and shoes. We shouldn’t be importing used clothes into the country or poor quality goods from China and elsewhere. It’s not about reinventing the wheel but making simple products like good quality energy saving light bulbs, door locks, light switches etc. Why do we have to import poor quality such products really and yet we have all these universities churning out students every year who just go own to become air time vendors. It’s a waste of resources to teach people for four years in universities only to become vendors on the streets. Let’s have resources made available to universities for teaching product development in practical terms. There are a lot of good quality things we can make locally without having to import even the raw materials for such products. The science and technology department at Harare Poly used to make plastic products such as plates, cups, spoons, and forks. What happened to such products and why are we not seeing such products in local stores with labels stamped ” Made at Harare Poly.” What has become of the tool making industry? Companies used to advertise for training apprentices in tool making and fitting and machining. These were local companies training local people at local colleges to spearhead manufacturing and production of quality local products from local raw materials. It can still be done, these Chinese fellows should not be allowed to bring their own technicians if they want to open up manufacturing businesses but to train locals and to produce quality products because they can do it. There is no need for zimbabwe to accept poor quality products from these China men because these same guys produce quality products and send them to the western markets while producing bad products for African markets. The same good quality products are sold overseas at low prices while the poor quality products are sold at higher prices in Africa. The bottom line is let’s make our own products and we can do it.