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Dr Godfrey Gandawa

Timoth Makohliso Midlands Reporter
THE government has covered ground in establishing state universities in the three remaining provinces of Matabeleland South, Mashonaland East and Manicaland and the project should be complete by 2015, Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Dr Godfrey Gandawa has said.

He said Bills for the establishment of the state universities in the three remaining provinces were at various advanced stages of being adopted and will be turned into charters soon.

Dr Gandawa said this in an interview held on the sidelines of a graduation ceremony at Gweru Polytechnic College yesterday.

“I can confirm that the establishment of state universities in the provinces of Mash East, Manicaland and Mat South is now in its advanced stages. We already have universities in these provinces that are only waiting to be affirmed as state universities,” said Dr Gandawa.

He said in Manicaland there was now the Manicaland University which is being managed by the Midlands State University (MSU).
In Matabeleland South there was the Gwanda State University housed at Epoch Mine and administered by the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) while in Mashonaland East there was the  Mashonaland East University of Agriculture Science which he said will soon be declared a state university.

“We’re expecting to complete the process by 2015. We are very much positive of meeting our targets as all the bills are now at various advanced stages. Once they sail through, the universities will be given their charters, come 2015 the mandate would have been fulfilled,” said Dr Gandawa.

President Mugabe is a strong advocate of quality education for Zimbabweans.

Two years ago, President Mugabe spoke of the government’s intentions to establish state universities in the remaining three provinces in the country in his 32nd Independence Anniversary address at the National Sports Stadium in Harare in 2012.

From one university at Independence in 1980,  the country now has a state university in all but the three provinces.