MARTIN MAWAYA
GWERU—Government has raised concern over low pass rates at polytechnic colleges, saying their performance is lagging behind those from other tertiary institutions.
Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Deputy Minister Simelisizwe Sibanda said government would work with polytechnic colleges to address the challenges.
He was speaking at the 35th Gweru Polytechnic graduation and prize-giving ceremony on Friday.
“As government, we are really concerned with what is going on at our polytechnic colleges. At our graduations at teachers’ colleges and universities, you find high pass rates, but at polytechnic colleges you don’t get the pass rate because it is very low. What is going on at our polytechnic colleges?” Sibanda asked.
He said universities were recording pass rates of between 98% and 99%, while teachers’ colleges, agricultural colleges and schools of mines were recording pass rates of up to 100%.
Teaching programmes at polytechnics were performing strongly, he said, but some other programmes had pass rates below 55%.
“We are going to work closely with our technical colleges to overcome these challenges,” Sibanda said.
He also questioned delays in issuing certificates to polytechnic graduates, saying students at universities and teachers’ colleges generally received their certificates soon after graduation.
“As soon as students graduate at teachers’ colleges and universities, they walk through to collect their certificates, but at polytechnic colleges they spend months without getting their certificates. What is happening at polytechnic colleges?” he asked.
Sibanda urged graduates to abandon a job-seeking mindset and use their technical skills to create businesses, jobs and products in line with the government’s Heritage-Based Education 5.0 model.
“Graduates, as you walk out of these gates, do not carry the mindset of an applicant. Carry the mindset of an employer, an innovator and a revolutionary producer,” he said.
“You must industrialize our communities and drive the rural industrialization thrust. Your certificates are not employment applications; they are mandates to create industries, launch start-ups and architect the upper-middle-income society envisioned in Vision 2030.”
Sibanda said Zimbabwe’s economic transformation would depend on the quality of its human capital and its ability to harness technology, innovation and skills to drive productive sectors.
A total of 790 students graduated from Gweru Polytechnic under the theme, “Empowering Society through Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).”
The graduating cohort comprised 310 males and 480 females, with the institution reporting one of the highest proportions of women enrolled in STEM disciplines.
Of the graduates, 351 were from science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) related fields, accounting for 44.4% of the graduating class.
Gweru Polytechnic also enrolled 42 students with disabilities, comprising 15 males and 27 females.
A further 14 students were participating in the government’s Work-for-Fees Programme.
The Fawezi Mastercard Scholarship supported 33 students, while Camfed assisted five female students and SOS Bindura supported one female student, bringing the total number of students supported by partner organisations to 39.
Sibanda said Gweru Polytechnic was pursuing memoranda of understanding with higher and tertiary institutions in Angola, including possible collaboration to introduce Portuguese as a program.
The partnerships would support student mobility, collaborative research, technology transfer and intercultural exchange, he said.
The institution was also progressing with plans to establish a beverage manufacturing plant, which is expected to create supply chains and support industrial development.
Sibanda said graduates were expected to apply their skills as professionals, innovators and entrepreneurs to Zimbabwe’s socio-economic development.
