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President Mnangagwa has said students from universities and colleges should no longer pride themselves in having paper qualifications but should be able to produce something tangible which demonstrates knowledge acquired.

He said the education system should adequately empower graduates to be self-sustaining to enable them to contribute to national development.

President Mnangagwa who was addressing Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT) students and staff when he launched an Industrial Cattle Fattening Pens and Medicinal Feed Factory at the university farm on Friday, said paper qualification can be futile if graduates cannot produce something tangible.

“We must have high performance and results culture within the higher and tertiary education ecosystem,” said President Mnangagwa.

He said the nation should not celebrate paper qualification but goods and services produced by graduates. President Mnangagwa said graduates from institutions of higher learning should produce goods and services that contribute to national development hence the adoption of Education 5.0.

 

He commended CUT for trailblazing in the different areas of specialisation. “Well done Chinhoyi University and I urge other universities and colleges to continue imparting vital knowledge and requisite competencies needed for the country’s modernisation and industrialisation,” said President Mnangagwa.

It is pleasing to note that since the adoption of Education 5.0, the country’s universities and colleges are now leading the nation’s industrialisation programme. The institutions of higher learning are not only churning out graduates that meet societal demands but are also establishing innovation hubs and constructing industrial parks.

The National University of Science and Technology (Nust) for example is driving Bulawayo’s re-industrialisation while CUT is doing the same in Mashonaland West Province.

The Midlands State University (MSU) is also playing a leading role in the Midlands Province and so are other universities and colleges across the country.

Following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the universities and colleges demonstrated that they are now producing a new breed of graduates that is relevant to industry.

The institutions of higher learning produced sanitisers, Covid-19 testing swabs and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as face masks.

The country benefited immensely from the universities and colleges’ positive response to the outbreak as it managed to drastically reduce its import bill for Covid-19 consumables.

Government has urged industry and commerce to support and embrace the solutions, innovations and inventions from the universities and colleges’ innovation hubs and industrial parks.

Industry has over the years been complaining that universities and colleges were not producing relevant graduates and we want to commend Government for positively responding by adopting Education 5.0.

The graduates from our universities and colleges have now taken the lead in reviving our industries and this is as it should be.